Villa Park Redevelopment

[curiousorange]

The Emirates is dreadful.

It's not. Good seats, good views, good facilities and in a great area. What didn't you like about it?

All those things are true, but it's not a football ground. It feels like going to the cinema. I've been as an away fan (obviously) and with an Arsenal season ticket-holder. It's worse in the home areas. It's really shit.

I think that's almost entirely the point. The Emirates wasn't built for Arsenal fans, but for Arsenal tourists.

[London Villan]

Where is an example of a good new stadium?

[VILLA MOLE]

Where is an example of a good new stadium?

I do like the look of the New Everton Stadium

[chrisw1]

I hope it's as simple as this.  We are absolutely flying, why rock the boat when we are in our best shape for 20 years?  If we finish top 4 (and I'm assuming we're not realistically title challengers this season), then next season could be our most important for decades.  In an era of marginal gains, do we want to go into that with a building site at one end?  Obviously, it has to be done some time and maybe that time would be when we are more comfortable as a top 4 club.

They may also be concerned about the pushback / lack of take up of the 'premium experiences'  I think the major driver behind the new stand was to increase hospitality and premium offer.  If they're coming to the conclusion that right now there's not much appetite for it in B6, then the return on investment of the extra seats just isn't worth it.

Overall it's disappointing.  But if we are in the CL next season, I'm kind of glad we'll be in a complete stadium.

[saunders_heroes]

Where is an example of a good new stadium?

I like Tottenham’s.

[Sexual Ealing]

Where is an example of a good new stadium?

The new Wembley is alright, although the only time I've been there was the victorious playoff final in the posh bit, courtesy of Risso, so I don't know that I had a representative experience.

[algy]

Yes!

Some serious partying going on in our house too.

I was all for redevelopment, but then it's got to 6 months before and I've had severe regrets that the Burnley game might be the last time that I sit there. 

[Rudy Can't Fail]

The Emirates is dreadful.

It's not. Good seats, good views, good facilities and in a great area. What didn't you like about it?

All those things are true, but it's not a football ground. It feels like going to the cinema. I've been as an away fan (obviously) and with an Arsenal season ticket-holder. It's worse in the home areas. It's really shit.

I think that's almost entirely the point. The Emirates wasn't built for Arsenal fans, but for Arsenal tourists.

The 'Emirates' was built for Benfica and their tourist fans. Arsenal basically hired the same designers and used the Benfica blueprints to build their new stadium. Coach parking was key to the design.

[curiousorange]

Where is an example of a good new stadium?

The new Wembley is alright, although the only time I've been there was the victorious playoff final in the posh bit, courtesy of Risso, so I don't know that I had a representative experience.

Wembley as a ground seems fine. Wembley as a location is an absolute ball-ache.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Moving stadium and location is a double whammy in terms of losing emotional attachment. Spurs and Arsenal’s new grounds are pretty much next door to their old ones, meaning no impact on how fans get to the ground so they can maintain long held pre-match rituals. Something we would never be able to do.

[London Villan]

Where is an example of a good new stadium?

The new Wembley is alright, although the only time I've been there was the victorious playoff final in the posh bit, courtesy of Risso, so I don't know that I had a representative experience.

Wembley as a ground seems fine. Wembley as a location is an absolute ball-ache.

Yes and no - driving is now pain, but still on the right side of London and can be accessed by two motorways. It is served by 2 big mainline stations, with shuttle services into London and northwards and loads of tube stations in walking distance.

Not many better than that.

[Flamingo Lane]

So if we go on a bad run and finish say 7th or 8th, will the building of the new stand be back on? As explained, it's a head scratcher.

[pauliewalnuts]

Where is an example of a good new stadium?

The new Wembley is alright, although the only time I've been there was the victorious playoff final in the posh bit, courtesy of Risso, so I don't know that I had a representative experience.

Wembley as a ground seems fine. Wembley as a location is an absolute ball-ache.

Is it, though? The location I mean.

It has its own railway station, tube stations, and is very near the main A road taking traffic out of London.

I've never found it particularly bad if you use your nous about coming and going. Last time I went, for the CC final, we got an uber to a location a five minute walk away from the stadium, and after the match sat and had a few drinks and waited whilst the crowd disappeared before wandering up to get the tube.

Although admittedly, we were in Club Wembley gold seats, so access to a decent bar to wait in much easier.

For the Liverpool semi final, I drove and parked in one of the MSCPs at the stadium. Again, no real problem getting away.

[VILLA MOLE]

Any new ground needs 4 separate stands ,  posts at the front holding the roof   and brown and red cladding  thanks in advance

[algy]

While we may end up with a bigger sparkly ground with better transport, leaving Villa Park will kill a Villa part of me that will never come back no matter how successful we are.

This.

Went for a drink with an Evertonian mate on Thursday.  His words were basically:

You know the Roman amphitheatre (in Chester)?  That's got a capacity of, what, about 750? But it's been there for 2000 years and nobody would dream of knocking it down.

Goodison Park was the first purpose built football stadium in the world, and it's had 40,000 people turning up every other week for 100 years. It's had a far bigger cultural impact than that amphitheatre, but in a few months there'll be nothing left of it.  It'll be houses.