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Author Topic: Villa Park Redevelopment  (Read 528906 times)

Offline N'ZMAV

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #330 on: March 30, 2021, 04:58:08 PM »
maybe it's just me - but I want both food and beer :D

Offline Woofles The Wonder Dog

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #331 on: March 30, 2021, 05:31:04 PM »
Food is far more important for Americans, what ever they do wherever they go there is food available and usually lots of it. Only in the US will you see someone go to the bar and order shit loads of food and then say as an afterthought, “does anybody want any drinks”

That's a point I'd never thought about before but it's true. Americans have the same attitude to food as we do to beer. Whatever the occasion, it's there.

When you ask for directions from a passer-by (clearly before GPS) in the UK, it was common for those to be signposted by pubs (go a mile down here to The Rose And Crown, carry on to you see The Bald-Faced Stag and it's just on the left). We found in America that'd be fast food outlets.

My gast was flabbered by the few moments of a sports lover in the USA weren't eating. Mind you the longeurs at baseball and American Football (honorary exceptions for Ice Hockey) left me wishing I'd bought a book with me.

Online Lastfootstamper

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #332 on: March 30, 2021, 06:22:26 PM »
Not sport, but there was food on the boat from Fisherman's Wharf, an area replete with eateries, to Alcatraz. A journey of some twelve minutes.

Online algy

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #333 on: March 30, 2021, 06:27:06 PM »
Not sport, but there was food on the boat from Fisherman's Wharf, an area replete with eateries, to Alcatraz. A journey of some twelve minutes.
For balance, you can get a beer on the Mersey ferry, which doesn't take that long in rush hour :)

Offline Des Little

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #334 on: March 30, 2021, 07:42:15 PM »
It would be great if we somehow managed to find something that worked. I guess the trick will be to encourage people like me - I drink in town when Blues aren’t about (wink), and rock up at VP just before kick off. The options that currently exist near the ground are garbage, and that includes the Holte Suite, which is an exercise in mis-management in itself.

Online eamonn

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #335 on: April 14, 2021, 05:55:47 PM »
This looks interesting. Our man Simon Inglis speaking.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wsc-live-around-the-grounds-tickets-147793039961

Offline robbo1874

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #336 on: April 15, 2021, 09:46:35 AM »
Anyone seen the plans for the redevelopment recently? Presumably just the ones from last time- continuation of the trinity round to the Witton with filled in corners?

Offline pauliewalnuts

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #337 on: April 15, 2021, 02:09:25 PM »
Please, no filled in corners.

That's not what English grounds are meant to look like. That's for foreign grounds and identikit recent English grounds (Boro, Leicester, Swansea, Cardiff, Hull, 100 other clubs)

Offline Chico Hamilton III

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #338 on: April 15, 2021, 03:02:57 PM »

...... recent English grounds....... , Swansea, Cardiff....

Ahem

Offline nigel

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #339 on: April 15, 2021, 04:28:10 PM »

Online algy

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #340 on: April 15, 2021, 05:00:28 PM »
Please, no filled in corners.

That's not what English grounds are meant to look like. That's for foreign grounds and identikit recent English grounds (Boro, Leicester, Swansea, Cardiff, Hull, 100 other clubs)
See, I was of that mind and then I started thinking ...

First, filled in corner grounds aren't universally bad.  The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is the obvious one - one of my favourite non-Villa grounds, has filled in corners, but in my book is pretty distinctive and has an absolutely cracking atmosphere inside.

Then, just because the corners are filled in doesn't mean the stands have to merge in to one.  If the Witton End was a huge, single tier kop-type stand, and the Witton Lane & Trinity Road remained as 2 and 3 tier stands respectively, you'd still have 4 distinct stands ... the single tier Witton End, 2 tier Witton Lane Stand, the 3 tier Trinity Road stand being obviously the 'main' stand, and a freestanding Holte End.

I'm not sure exactly how, but 'AV' floodlights down the Witton End, and a big brick clocktower in the Holte End/Witton Lane corner ... there's no way that's an identikit stadium of any description.  Plus, make the corners single tier and the Witton End / North Stand becomes the biggest behind-the-goal-stand in Europe and starts to form a really strong identity of it's own*.


* Personally I love the brutalist masterpiece that's currently in place, and regularly sit there when I go to matches ... but if the ground's being redeveloped it's the obvious place to start.

Offline Russ aka Big Nose

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #341 on: April 15, 2021, 05:08:30 PM »
Agree with Algy.

I don't get the binary classification that:
 - Filled in corners = bad and soulless
 - Not filled in corners = good and authentic

I know there are a number of very similar 'bowl' type designs are are tough to tell apart, but it doesn't have to be the outcome.

If the brief given to prospective architects is clear and they are encouraged to reflect the character and traditions of a club and stadium, then why would you impose a condition related to the corners of the ground?

UTV

Offline paul_e

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #342 on: April 15, 2021, 05:20:26 PM »
I don't mind half filled corners with higher tiers still separate and I could even live with all 4 corners filled in. What I'd draw the line at personally is an L or U shaped ground with 1-2 separate stands, I really fucking hate that.

Offline Smirker

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #343 on: April 15, 2021, 08:34:02 PM »
Horse shoe shape is the ideal scenario.

Trinity, North and Doug Ellis all in one (yes with filled in corners) with a level roof and then Holte on it's own. Some little refurbishments around the ground to make it sexier and give it more pizzazz.


Offline cdbearsfan

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Re: Villa Park Redevelopment
« Reply #344 on: April 15, 2021, 08:43:52 PM »
Yeah, makes sense. Now that we've killed the identity of the Trinity, only the Holte matters. Leave that as a massive stand and fill in the corners for the rest. And minium 51,000 capacity, ideally at least 56,000, or it isn't worth bothering.

 


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