Villa Park Redevelopment

[olaftab]

I'm glad the away fans are getting some new space too with redevelopment of Q1 and the new large entrance. One of thr plans shows an abutment onto the Witton Lane for access to the upper tier, so presumably there will be more space.

They may well be getting rid of the 3 or 4 boxes that are there too to create room? Eitherway, I don't like that away fans have a pretty dim view of the facilities in the away end.

Yes agreed. Despite rivalries we should make away fans facilities experience as pleasant as possible.

[olaftab]

Anyone know why the club has suddenly started to refer to the Trinity Road Stand as just simply the Trinity Stand?

I thought it might have been a Purslowism but it’s present throughout the planning documents.

Really don’t like it.

I like it and I also think North stand should be names after me as I have now been sitting there for 10 years.

[Ads]

I note it says Phase 2 will involve configuration of the stands, including Doug Ellis & Holte End to increase the overall capacity up to 52,000 - 53,000.

I think it's a fantastic proposal for the new North Stand and it's hard to see how it could be any bigger.  But a max final destination of 53k does feel a liitle bit light to me, but I guess that can only change significantly if more space can be created in Witton Lane and / or Trinity road can be shifted a little to allow bulding the holte out on the corner - both of which feel unlikely in the medium term.

Where have you seen the docs Chris for Phase II?

[Drummond]

Anyone know why the club has suddenly started to refer to the Trinity Road Stand as just simply the Trinity Stand?

I thought it might have been a Purslowism but it’s present throughout the planning documents.

Really don’t like it.

I like it and I also think North stand should be names after me as I have now been sitting there for 10 years.

Nah, it should be named after the people who have had to look at the thing for 10 years.

[chrisw1]

I note it says Phase 2 will involve configuration of the stands, including Doug Ellis & Holte End to increase the overall capacity up to 52,000 - 53,000.

I think it's a fantastic proposal for the new North Stand and it's hard to see how it could be any bigger.  But a max final destination of 53k does feel a liitle bit light to me, but I guess that can only change significantly if more space can be created in Witton Lane and / or Trinity road can be shifted a little to allow bulding the holte out on the corner - both of which feel unlikely in the medium term.

Where have you seen the docs Chris for Phase II?

There weren't any detailed documents, it was just referred to briefly a couple of times in the design and access atatements.

eg, see page 10 on this document - it refers very briefly to phase 2 on the bottom right of the page under heading 'Future Phases'
http://eplanning.idox.birmingham.gov.uk/publisher/docs/769C0AEB1FD73E536613D9CB4D4A4B35/Document-769C0AEB1FD73E536613D9CB4D4A4B35.pdf

Also see p13

[LeeB]

Anyone know why the club has suddenly started to refer to the Trinity Road Stand as just simply the Trinity Stand?

I thought it might have been a Purslowism but it’s present throughout the planning documents.

Really don’t like it.

I like it and I also think North stand should be names after me as I have now been sitting there for 10 years.

I didn't realise you were in there too. Call it the Castle Bromwich Has All The Best Villa Fans Stand and be done with it.

[eamonn]

Cheers cd. There were only 17k at the Rangers friendly.

Was that dead or wounded?

Only last night I found myself lost
By the station called King's Cross

[eamonn]

Anyone know why the club has suddenly started to refer to the Trinity Road Stand as just simply the Trinity Stand?

I thought it might have been a Purslowism but it’s present throughout the planning documents.

Really don’t like it.

I like it and I also think North stand should be names after me as I have now been sitting there for 10 years.

Trinity North is a great name. I knew aftab must have been  a fiction.

[FatSam]

Overall it looks good, but it's not unique - as was the original Trinity (or even the copy at the Holte End). It would be great to have a stand that has something that sets us apart from other grounds and can only be Villa Park. To me it looks like the new main stand at Anfield - not a bad stand, but certainly not something that can only be Villa Park.

That’s my opinion as well. It all looks well considered, and to a good quality, but the architecture is a bit bland and corporate. If it didn’t say ‘Aston Villa’ on it, I wouldn’t be able to pick it out from a crowd of other stands, like the Anfield main stand for example.

[FatSam]

Anyone know why the club has suddenly started to refer to the Trinity Road Stand as just simply the Trinity Stand?

I thought it might have been a Purslowism but it’s present throughout the planning documents.

Really don’t like it.

The thing I don’t like is the new stand being called the North Stand. I think it should be the Witton End, or the Witton End Stand. As far as I know the North Stand has only ever been used for the structure that is to be demolished. It has always felt like a horribly prosaic 1970s naming convention to me. Now seems like a good opportunity to reconnect with the history of the place. It also has more balance and symmetry, being opposite the Holte End.

[FatSam]

Several posters have commented on how big the stand is, and it’s obviously a big stand in comparison to the rest of the ground, but I’m still disappointed that it isn’t a bit bigger. One of the design parameters is not to exceed the height of the Trinity Road Stand. This seems a bit arbitrary, but is probably a sensible planning strategy, to be pragmatic about what you can get consent for. I would have liked to see the capacity of the stand really pushed, so that the overall ground capacity was more like 53k. I think that would put us in a better position for the overall capacity to challenge the likes of Arsenal, West Ham, Liverpool and Spurs following later phases of development.

[London Villan]

It's also probably at the limit of the optimum viewing distance from the pitch too. Any further back and you'd be watching subbuteo. I think  it's one of the reasons the upper tier doesn't connect. It would just be so far away from the opposite corner of the pitch.

[chrisw1]

Several posters have commented on how big the stand is, and it’s obviously a big stand in comparison to the rest of the ground, but I’m still disappointed that it isn’t a bit bigger. One of the design parameters is not to exceed the height of the Trinity Road Stand. This seems a bit arbitrary, but is probably a sensible planning strategy, to be pragmatic about what you can get consent for. I would have liked to see the capacity of the stand really pushed, so that the overall ground capacity was more like 53k. I think that would put us in a better position for the overall capacity to challenge the likes of Arsenal, West Ham, Liverpool and Spurs following later phases of development.

I think to do that they would have had to fully fill the trinity corner and I think too many people were too precious about the aesthetic of that for the club to run with that option.  But if you look at the design documents it was somehting that was considered.

[FatSam]

It's also probably at the limit of the optimum viewing distance from the pitch too. Any further back and you'd be watching subbuteo. I think  it's one of the reasons the upper tier doesn't connect. It would just be so far away from the opposite corner of the pitch.

I’m sure you’re right that it’s at the limit of the optimum viewing distance, but Wembley for example obviously has seats that are further away from the action.

[London Villan]

I bet there isnt much in it. Wembley pinches in at the corners, but the sweep around from the Trinity would be 30 rows deep - bit like St James only bigger.