Villa Park Redevelopment

[The Edge]

Do the council own the small park behind the WL stand? I’d guess so.

Yes they do and the club paid to have it landscaped when the house were knocked down to extend the Witton Lane. We can't build on it unless the club can purchase the houses behind it and repeat the process.

[Dave P]

£1billion?

The North Stand is costing the best part of £100 million

So 4 stands is £400 million, I am struggling to find a piece of real estate in Birmingham for £600 million.

You need at least 2 stands bigger than one behind the goal and a good plot of land around it.  Plus a bit of grass in the middle to play on!

[dave.woodhall]

Plus the transport infrastructure. I can't see the council building new roads just so we can have a better ground.

[Ads]

£1billion?

The North Stand is costing the best part of £100 million

So 4 stands is £400 million, I am struggling to find a piece of real estate in Birmingham for £600 million.

You're being obtuse.  You don't build a modern stadium & associated infrastructure for £400m in this day and age. 

If you're just counting bricks, steel and plots of land, you're missing out the opportunity for bureaucratic insanity to double your build time and triple your costs.

Sizewell C had a 44,000 page report on environmental impact for absolutely critical infrastructure. Off to Judicial Rview it goes because yay for NIMBYs, so says the CoA. The biggest construction project in the city outside of HS2, a billion? Sounds about right.

[Dick Edwards]

We can now look more hopefully at my idea to buy Aston Hall and Park, and everything behind the Witton Lane Stand. That’s the kind of footprint we need.

Given Birmingham City Council's financial problems, this could be a valid option.

[Ads]

Given the way BCC treat their social housing tenants, I'd be all behind sharking the motherless fucks for cheap real estate.

[algy]

£1billion?

The North Stand is costing the best part of £100 million

So 4 stands is £400 million, I am struggling to find a piece of real estate in Birmingham for £600 million.

Not just 4 stands though, is it? There's the pitch, offices, shop, car park, other buildings. You've also got all the infrastructure underneath the stand.

I can quite well imagine a new ground would be approaching £1b.

[chrisw1]

We can now look more hopefully at my idea to buy Aston Hall and Park, and everything behind the Witton Lane Stand. That’s the kind of footprint we need.

Given Birmingham City Council's financial problems, this could be a valid option.

Andy Street was interviewed yesterday and stated they would not be selling off crown jewel assets - he specifically referenced Aston Hall among others. I guess there may be a chance to get a small slice of the lower park area, but the Trinity side is the last part of the stadium that we'll be updating.

The small park area by Witton Lane will be more about resident issues than the council getting a nominal amount for the plot.

[Drummond]

Taking some of the park on the Trinity Road side would offer us nothing unless we went for a full rebuild.

[chrisw1]

Taking some of the park on the Trinity Road side would offer us nothing unless we went for a full rebuild.

It may allow us to do something with the Holte / Trinity corner, but that would be a very long term thing and the cost of moving the road would probably be prohibitive.  But if we can increase our plot size at a relatively modest discounted price, then it would seem sensible to do so.

[pauliewalnuts]

£1billion?

The North Stand is costing the best part of £100 million

So 4 stands is £400 million, I am struggling to find a piece of real estate in Birmingham for £600 million.

Not just 4 stands though, is it? There's the pitch, offices, shop, car park, other buildings. You've also got all the infrastructure underneath the stand.

I can quite well imagine a new ground would be approaching £1b.

This is it, the infrastructure is a huge project and "unseen".

One of the reasons the tram extension across the city centre is taking so long - probably the biggest one - is because they have several centuries worth of infrastructure to navigate through, whilst doing so in a way that doesn't shut the city centre down.

[SoccerHQ]

Said it before (and I have no clue how feasible it is with land and costing) but only part of Midlands I could see us in a new ground would be at the NEC.

That basically means though we go through the endless issues of West Ham, moving miles away from our heritage and home and it being a soulless venue if we're not having a good season.

As good transport links as you could ever ask for though....

[pauliewalnuts]

Moving to the NEC would be the death of the club.

The transport links aren't really any better tbh, One trainline and a motorway nearby? I'd say if anything they're worse, as there's no walk from the city centre option, and fewer local buses.

We'd also be perfectly recreating the frustration of sitting in your car, not moving, for fucking ages whilst literally being able to see the motorway, except in one of the most soulless parts of the west midlands.

No ta.

[pauliewalnuts]

We can now look more hopefully at my idea to buy Aston Hall and Park, and everything behind the Witton Lane Stand. That’s the kind of footprint we need.

Given Birmingham City Council's financial problems, this could be a valid option.

Andy Street was interviewed yesterday and stated they would not be selling off crown jewel assets - he specifically referenced Aston Hall among others. I guess there may be a chance to get a small slice of the lower park area, but the Trinity side is the last part of the stadium that we'll be updating.

Although it's not up to Andy Street. He said he'd be dead set against it, though, but he can't stop it.

Although tbh if we ever really thought it was an idea to rebuild the ground where it is, this might be a chance in a lifetime to do it, if we bought up part of the park land.

[Nev]

I won't even go to gigs at the NEC.