Villa Park Redevelopment

[Percy McCarthy]

Apologies if this has already been posted but the BM are running an article quoting the current mayor of the WMCA. It says that something with the catchy name The Event Day Travel Working Group has been set up to look at all aspects of matchday travel at Villa Park with the aim of sorting out the current crap the supporters have to deal with. It's going to address all aspects of road and rail including the upgrade of Witton Station in time for the 2028 Euros. Might be interesting to keep an eye on this.

There was someone from this parish who had some great ideas and had been in touch with the relevant bodies. They deserve to be involved in this.

[Dante Lavelli]

Definitely reading too much into it but ‘event’ day travel is a decent signpost that they want more than just football matches in the area.

[pauliewalnuts]

the Blunderdome.

Oh, I say, bravo! Very good.

*applause*

Excuse me, I said it first!

You did. Mine was a mere tribute act.

APPLAUSE RETRACTED APPLAUSE RETRACTED.

Keep the bravo, though, for furthering the reach of Dave P's post.

[The Edge]

Definitely reading too much into it but ‘event’ day travel is a decent signpost that they want more than just football matches in the area.

For sure. Anything that gets sorted for matchdays will be implemented for all large events at the stadium.

[FatSam]

Will all these gigs stop when the council funded Bluecoat Blunderdome is open at Wheels?

If I was a few multi-billionaires who owned the Villa I’d be doing everything I could to destroy the business case for the Blunderdome.

Yes, me too. To their credit, the Blues owners have identified an opportunity. At the moment, the idea of a 60k stadium seems absurd, but they own enough land to create a destination where all of the other stuff compensates (initially) for the stadium. The fact that until recently large events have been hosted in Coventry rather than Birmingham, shows that there is a gap in the market. Once it has been filled, it will have been filled. All the big clubs are moving in this direction. Our options are limited at Villa Park.

[Drummond]

Not so limited as to have put off Ozzy and his metal crew, Pink, Kendrick Lamarr or Guns n Roses.

[Villan82]

Not so limited as to have put off Ozzy and his metal crew, Pink, Kendrick Lamarr or Guns n Roses.

But so limited as to have seemingly put our own 'President of business Operations' and owners off following through on their own plan for expanding the stadium and catering to the demand that's been there this decade.

I would love to see some sort of club statement this summer clarifying all of the u-turns of the past 18 months. But that's a pipe dream

[Somniloquism]

Not so limited as to have put off Ozzy and his metal crew, Pink, Kendrick Lamarr or Guns n Roses.

But so limited as to have seemingly put our own 'President of business Operations' and owners off following through on their own plan for expanding the stadium and catering to the demand that's been there this decade.

I would love to see some sort of club statement this summer clarifying all of the u-turns of the past 18 months. But that's a pipe dream

There was some talk that Unai supposedly asked for it to not be knocked down in the season we were going into Europe and wanted home to be really advantageous from all for sides. Another theory is they also needed more turnover suddenly so needed the stand to be changed to make more money so we get better PSR claim back when it is knocked down and replaced.

[FatSam]

Not so limited as to have put off Ozzy and his metal crew, Pink, Kendrick Lamarr or Guns n Roses.

Limited in terms of earning potential compared to a larger stadium with better facilities, like Spurs. If a 60k stadium gets built elsewhere in Birmingham, that will become the default venue for those kind of events.

[FatSam]

I’m no expert on PSR, but my understanding is that stadium (re)development costs are excluded, but presumably the loss in income due to reduced capacity isn’t? In which case, doing the redevelopment this season, when we have more lucrative games, would have made the situation even more difficult.

[Dante Lavelli]

I’m no expert on PSR, but my understanding is that stadium (re)development costs are excluded, but presumably the loss in income due to reduced capacity isn’t? In which case, doing the redevelopment this season, when we have more lucrative games, would have made the situation even more difficult.

I think the reduced capacity is factored into the turnover based on a hypothetical average income per seat.  So this season, with CL football, massively helps.

[Somniloquism]

I’m no expert on PSR, but my understanding is that stadium (re)development costs are excluded, but presumably the loss in income due to reduced capacity isn’t? In which case, doing the redevelopment this season, when we have more lucrative games, would have made the situation even more difficult.

I think the reduced capacity is factored into the turnover based on a hypothetical average income per seat.  So this season, with CL football, massively helps.

And piling in extra GA+ seats as well.

[Somniloquism]

Not so limited as to have put off Ozzy and his metal crew, Pink, Kendrick Lamarr or Guns n Roses.

Limited in terms of earning potential compared to a larger stadium with better facilities, like Spurs. If a 60k stadium gets built elsewhere in Birmingham, that will become the default venue for those kind of events.

Even if the North Stand was ongoing now, It would have put us to 50k maybe. However the other thing to remember is gigs normally have one stand empty where the band plays. Very rare you get "in the round" ones as that takes up pitch space and probably less people.

[London Villan]

I don’t think the gig attendance is bigger than a match day, don’t we have a safety certificate of sorts which is capped at our regular capacity?

[The Edge]

I don’t think the gig attendance is bigger than a match day, don’t we have a safety certificate of sorts which is capped at our regular capacity?

I think the capacity is roughly the same for a gig as it is for a match. The NS only holds a paltry 7,500 so the numbet people on the pitch equates to about the same.