Villa Park Redevelopment

[Marlon From Bearwood]

We can't just magic 30 coaches. As mentioned before, for the Commonwealth Games there were coaches from all around the country specifically hired for the event.  I just don't see this being an attractive gig for coach companies.

But Edgbaston can engage NE to provide double decker buses. Why can't we?

How often do they need them in Edgbaston? It's a lot easier to cover events with overtime if they are infrequent, less so if it's something that has to happen every couple of weeks.

Mentioned it before but they manage it very well at Anfield. Paid £4 return when we played them at the end of last season. Outwards, we walked from the pub in the city centre straight on to a bus. After the game, a 5 minute walk from the ground and a 10 min queue to get the bus back.

Was about to mention this. Everton do it too. A big line of buses (not coaches) lined up near the park after the game, ready to take people back to the city centre.

[PeterWithe]

I dont think we are being overly ambitious and demanding in wanting the bus and train companies to move a few thousand people from one place in the city to another at set times a few times a month.

[tomd2103]

A new stadium is just such a red herring. How much real extra revenue would it bring in? How much extra capacity? Enough to counteract the debt the club would be saddled with? And with all the intangibles we'd lose as well.

The Emirates is soulless. The Etihad is soulless. New White Hart Lane is soulless. The London Stadium is unbelievably soulless. And I'm here to tell you that the Aston Villa Arena brought to you by Dystopic Asian-Facing Bookie would be no different.

That would be the big question to consider.  Would there be an increase in income, commercial opportunities etc. that would enable us to move to the next level and closer to Liverpool, Chelsea, the Manchester and North London clubs in terms of the commercial side of things? 

If not, then I agree that moving from Villa Park would not really be an option.

[Percy McCarthy]

I dont think we are being overly ambitious and demanding in wanting the bus and train companies to move a few thousand people from one place in the city to another at set times a few times a month.

Nothing about the extent to which this country is falling apart surprises me any more.

I think we should just expand and let people fight their way to and from the ground. The rest is beyond our control.

[Dogtanian]

I dont think we are being overly ambitious and demanding in wanting the bus and train companies to move a few thousand people from one place in the city to another at set times a few times a month.

Nothing about the extent to which this country is falling apart surprises me any more.

It's almost as if winning an election and running a country require completely different skills, knowledge, and experience!

[PeterWithe]

It’s the general acceptance of the situation that annoys me, that we can’t possibly expect travel companies to carry out their core activities competently.

[chrisw1]

I agree it would be nice.  But when people are paying higher council tax bills to facilitate transport links to Villa Park, it won't go down well with the vast majority of B'ham residents.  I can see why the Council are reluctant to spend millions on a train station that won't have significant additional use outside of match days, particularly when they seem to have a massive hole in their finances.

[Percy McCarthy]

I agree it would be nice.  But when people are paying higher council tax bills to facilitate transport links to Villa Park, it won't go down well with the vast majority of B'ham residents.  I can see why the Council are reluctant to spend millions on a train station that won't have significant additional use outside of match days, particularly when they seem to have a massive hole in their finances.

Why do you think the council would be paying for it?

[chrisw1]

Aren't we asking the council to fund the upgrade of the train station?

[LeeB]

Aren't we asking the council to fund the upgrade of the train station?

No

[chrisw1]

Well, we are, as part of the solution.  Travel companies include the trains I'd guess.

We're not going to fix it all with buses without the club funding it privately  I'm sure DW said they have been asked before and they weren't interested.

[LeeB]

No, we're waiting for the funding from the WMCA, not Birmingham City Council

[Percy McCarthy]

Well, we are, as part of the solution.

Can you link any evidence of this? You seem very sure.

[chrisw1]

Well, we are, as part of the solution.

Can you link any evidence of this? You seem very sure.

Well I'm no expert on local government funding etc.  I had assumed as we had been putting pressure on Andy Street then any upgrade to the train stations would come out of the public purse.

The first hit on Google came up with this on the WMCA website:
The Transport Budget is funded by a levy from the seven metropolitan councils. In January 2017 the West Midlands Combined Authority set a levy of £121.54m for the 2017/18 year, a 2.63% reduction from 2016/17. The levy is allocated to each district based upon published population figures. Details of the Transport Budget and Levy can be found in the Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) Transport Plan on the TfWM website and also the annual expenditure leaflet.


I'm not really after a debate as it's not something I have any expertise on.  But as a layman, ultimately transport upgrades are inevitably funded by the taxpayer aren't they?

[Risso]

It's not hard to find examples of councils paying for upgrades to stations etc:

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/transport/leeds-city-council-says-rail-station-gateway-improvement-costs-increased-by-ps10m-due-to-inflation-and-economic-pressures-3894678