Villa Park Redevelopment

[Nii Lamptey]

People are assuming that a New North Stand would mean lower prices and I'm not sure why.

True. But at least there would be no need to displace current season ticket holders.

It's not just Villa, but pretty much all Premier League clubs... It all has the feeling that it's going to go 'pop'. When the TV companies came in and started throwing billions at the Premier League, pretty much all of that money was snatched up by the players. When in reality, the fans are as much a part of what makes English football special, and match going fans should have reaped some of the reward of those bumper pay deals with subsidised tickets.

It's all very much closing the stable door after the horse has bolted now though - The only way of fixing it is with a Europe wide salary and ticket price cap. Will never happen though, as the people in charge like money too much.

[Drummond]

These price rises will show a much increased revenue this year. When they knock the North down, they will be able to claim a much bigger loss to offset PSR.

All these claims of short-sightedness are the ones who aren't seeing the bigger picture.

Emery wanted 4 stands to play Champions League football in front of. Imagine the dismay and undoubtedly the complaints if we had thousands more unavailable seats this season. We have Bayern Munich, Juve and Celtic at Villa Park. And they will sell out.

We might move ground. Or just redevelop. Either way, our new shareholders and directors will not be happy leaving as is.

[Risso]

People are assuming that a New North Stand would mean lower prices and I'm not sure why.

True. But at least there would be no need to displace current season ticket holders.

It's not just Villa, but pretty much all Premier League clubs... It all has the feeling that it's going to go 'pop'. When the TV companies came in and started throwing billions at the Premier League, pretty much all of that money was snatched up by the players. When in reality, the fans are as much a part of what makes English football special, and match going fans should have reaped some of the reward of those bumper pay deals with subsidised tickets.

It's all very much closing the stable door after the horse has bolted now though - The only way of fixing it is with a Europe wide salary and ticket price cap. Will never happen though, as the people in charge like money too much.

It was never going to happen though. The only way to win more matches is to buy better players. And when players are a finite resource with an almost infinite supply of money wanting to buy them, the money is going to flow in their direction.

[Villan82]

All these claims of short-sightedness are the ones who aren't seeing the bigger picture.

We might move ground. Or just redevelop. Either way, our new shareholders and directors will not be happy leaving as is.

The official line delivered by the most powerful executive at the club since last December has been a variation of the old taunt of away fans in the late Lerner era 'your ground is too big for you'. And the price rises have resulted in empty seats justifying his position.

Reading between the lines of who does what at the Board, and who invests in what, doesn't change the perception that we are focussed on the short term right now and making a balls of things in the medium- long-term.

I would be absolutely delighted if there is actually something simmering but Heck does not inspire confidence.

[Ads]

If you're going to knock the North down and claim a larger loss allowance, doing it when you've made the most money you're ever likely to make out the current ground makes sense.

The idea that Heck is deliberately trying to create a shortfall in occupancy is a conspiracy theory. It's nonsense that contradicts every other complaint people make about Heck.

[PeterWithe]

I know we've done this to death but it still makes absolutely no sense to me that we've made these additions to the board and shareholding if the med-long term plan is 'mend and make do' at VP. There is something coming, we just don't know what it is yet.

[Ads]

I know we've done this to death but it still makes absolutely no sense to me that we've made these additions to the board and shareholding if the med-long term plan is 'mend and make do' at VP. There is something coming, we just don't know what it is yet.

I agree we have done it to death, but I equally agree with what you say. We don't know what the long term vision is. Given the "who" we've put on the board and the "what" we've taken on in ownership, I'd suggest something bigger or more complex at least than the original plan.

We're effectively NWSE(C) now and shy of oil money, wim richer than yow.

[algy]

Without being all solipsistic about it, I am exactly the kind of punter Heck should be targeting. I am a lapsed ST holder since moving to Kent but I now have 2 young boys who would love to come to VP on occasion. We would make the special trip 2 or 3 times per season and I’d pay a premium.

But GA+ is completely useless to me. I obviously wouldn’t drink beer so that is a waste and my kids aren’t going to make a dent in the buffet. Plus, I’d rather sit on the half way line than the Holte.

I’d pay £300 for those tickets plus I’d get them sausage and chips or whatever and we’d be happy. But I can’t do that.

Thankfully the boys are true claret and blue and not tempted by our local club, Crystal Palace. But I’d have a much easier time taking them there.

Similar boat to me - former season ticket holder, though haven't had one since I left the midlands.  My boys are starting to really get in to football now.  We'd be all over GA+ if it seemed like it made some kind of sense.  Like, I'd happily pay a decent premium if there was a decent seat, half-decent food (not necessarily fancy - just similar quality to what I'd get if I went to Pret or M&S on New Street station, but hot), and a bar where I could buy a half-decent pint and a glass of pop for my boys

That's literally it - it would a better experience than if I went to a match normally, so I'd happily pay for that.  But not what's there, because I'd never even approach getting value for money from it.

[Drummond]

I know we've done this to death but it still makes absolutely no sense to me that we've made these additions to the board and shareholding if the med-long term plan is 'mend and make do' at VP. There is something coming, we just don't know what it is yet.

I agree we have done it to death, but I equally agree with what you say. We don't know what the long term vision is. Given the "who" we've put on the board and the "what" we've taken on in ownership, I'd suggest something bigger or more complex at least than the original plan.

We're effectively NWSE(C) now and shy of oil money, wim richer than yow.

Yes.

No point in announcing anything, because whatever they say people will ask more questions. A vacuum just gets a few internet bods moaning and arguing amongst themselves whilst most people focus on the football (which, let's face it is the best distraction possible).

I'm convinced there is something big coming, at some point, but perhaps Heck et al are testing the limits of what's possible right now, so they know what to build.

I just don't believe the spin that people keep pushing that there's no plan, no idea and that we've small-time thinking. Our owners just don't do that.

[chrisw1]

People are assuming that a New North Stand would mean lower prices and I'm not sure why.

True. But at least there would be no need to displace current season ticket holders.

It's not just Villa, but pretty much all Premier League clubs... It all has the feeling that it's going to go 'pop'. When the TV companies came in and started throwing billions at the Premier League, pretty much all of that money was snatched up by the players. When in reality, the fans are as much a part of what makes English football special, and match going fans should have reaped some of the reward of those bumper pay deals with subsidised tickets.

It's all very much closing the stable door after the horse has bolted now though - The only way of fixing it is with a Europe wide salary and ticket price cap. Will never happen though, as the people in charge like money too much.

There would still have been a lot of shifting of ST holders.  I think one of the main purposes of the North would have been to facilitate far more GA+ & hospitality, but that doesn't mean it would all have been situated in that stand itself.  The halfway line seats will always be the primary target for hospitality and my guess would have been the whole middle tier of the trinity and a similar middle layer tier in the new North would have been predominantly a hospitality deck.

The hospitality and GA+ was always coming under Heck.  What cancelling the new north has done is just reduce the amount of general admission tickets available for everyday fans.  A cynic would say this is part of the strategy to push people towards the higher priced options.  There seems to be quite a lot of resistance at this point.

[Drummond]

Purslow started Terrace View, this had been coming before Heck arrived.

[tomd2103]

Without being all solipsistic about it, I am exactly the kind of punter Heck should be targeting. I am a lapsed ST holder since moving to Kent but I now have 2 young boys who would love to come to VP on occasion. We would make the special trip 2 or 3 times per season and I’d pay a premium.

But GA+ is completely useless to me. I obviously wouldn’t drink beer so that is a waste and my kids aren’t going to make a dent in the buffet. Plus, I’d rather sit on the half way line than the Holte.

I’d pay £300 for those tickets plus I’d get them sausage and chips or whatever and we’d be happy. But I can’t do that.

Thankfully the boys are true claret and blue and not tempted by our local club, Crystal Palace. But I’d have a much easier time taking them there.

Similar boat to me - former season ticket holder, though haven't had one since I left the midlands.  My boys are starting to really get in to football now.  We'd be all over GA+ if it seemed like it made some kind of sense.  Like, I'd happily pay a decent premium if there was a decent seat, half-decent food (not necessarily fancy - just similar quality to what I'd get if I went to Pret or M&S on New Street station, but hot), and a bar where I could buy a half-decent pint and a glass of pop for my boys

That's literally it - it would a better experience than if I went to a match normally, so I'd happily pay for that.  But not what's there, because I'd never even approach getting value for money from it.

Firstly, I'm not sure the demand for hospitality is that high and secondly, surely it has to be value for money?  Some of the seats are right up in the top of the Trinity and Doug Ellis, so hardly the best seats in the ground and then you are paying way over the odds for a few drinks and hot dogs in a pub setting.   

[montague]

FWIW I do wonder if they are laying the groundworks for a majority of fans to regretfully conclude we need a new stadium 

[Toronto Villa]

I still contend that all the changes we’ve seen this summer are all short term remedies to a much bigger plan. Emery didn’t want a knocked down stand greeting the side in our CL campaign or as we have another go at top 4. At some point we’re going to have to commit to the long term. There is going to be a big plan announced and a timeline for it to be executed. But a lot of things have to align in the surrounding area for that to happen if we stay at Villa Park. 

[The Edge]

FWIW I do wonder if they are laying the groundworks for a majority of fans to regretfully conclude we need a new stadium

I don't think Heck gives a flying fuck about how we feel either way but I take your point.