Villa Park Redevelopment

[David_Nab]

If we commend NSWE for almost everything they do then this decision ultimately is theirs also. Or at minimum it has their blessing. I can see the rationale behind this with the surrounding infrastructure issues not resolved. And I wonder if this is a veiled threat to the local government to make things happen with the station or financing also.

Seems like that to me

[Risso]

And I wonder if this is a veiled threat to the local government to make things happen with the station or financing also.

Absolutely no chance of that whatsoever. You say things like that in private, and you don't make announcements like this and then go back on them.

[LeeB]

Is us having Euro Champ games dependent on us upping the capacity?

To be honest, I couldn't give a shite about hosting those games as I certainly won't go.

[Scott Nielsen]

His interview reminded me of a speech I was once witness to before a round of redundancies were announced. I took redundancy.

Nailed it - I've been in meetings like this too. On the money, SE!

Really don't like how he glossed over stopping the North Stand development either. So what exactly IS the plan regarding capacity going forward then Mr by'eck??

Comcast Arena.

[DB]

It won’t be reduced totally for 2 years, I guess the bottom tier will be increased more the development goes on.

[Nev]

I always had the feeling this wouldn't go ahead, don't ask me why but I just had that nagging doubt. If we do move, I won't be going. Well, not as a Season Ticket holder anyway but it won't be just down to my belligerence, I'll probably be too old by then anyway, it's bound to take at least a decade at a minimum.

I shall enjoy every minute at Villa Park while we still have it.

[curiousorange]

I'd always hoped that any move would be driven by actual success on the pitch rather than the potential for it.

[DB]

So just read he wants to pause the north stand and has no plans to move to a new stadium….so is he going to enlighten us with what his plans are???
Do nowt as we may get CL football???

[PeterWithe]

Is us having Euro Champ games dependent on us upping the capacity?

To be honest, I couldn't give a shite about hosting those games as I certainly won't go.

Neither will I but having this tournament in the UK without games here would leave us with egg on our faces. We are clearly not seeing the bigger plan, and we are not seeing it because he didn't take the opportunity to set it out.

[jon collett]

It's a load of vision-less, short term drivel though. Using the current good run of form at home as an excuse, the prick. The thing is with all investments, is that they require a degree of short term pain in return for the long term benefit. You pay into a pension, you have less cash each month to spend now, but when you retire you have a pension pot to full back on. So yes, a reduced capacity at Villa Park for a couple of years, but then a 50,000 capacity ground for every year thereafter.

"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit."

Yep this is why i said he gave the impression of no strategy, no understanding and no competence.

I think we have to hope this is some kind of gambit.

[pauliewalnuts]

Hmm, disappointing that they appear to be putting the new North Stand on hold.

Does that rule us out of the EC though? All stadiums need to be ready two years before the event, so it's hard to see how we manage this.

I am also wondering if they're thinking of a new stadium / total rebuild.

[Ads]

He doesn't strike me as somebody out their depth. He strikes me as somebody that gives not a single fuck; he's on a mission and that is to generate cash, even if it means pissing us off.

What are we going to do about it? What sort of nutter would get off the Villa bus now? You've had years of shite. He knows this, he doesn't care or if he does, is calculated enough to roll on anyway.

It's a load of vision-less, short term drivel though. Using the current good run of form at home as an excuse, the prick. The thing is with all investments, is that they require a degree of short term pain in return for the long term benefit. You pay into a pension, you have less cash each month to spend now, but when you retire you have a pension pot to full back on. So yes, a reduced capacity at Villa Park for a couple of years, but then a 50,000 capacity ground for every year thereafter.

"A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit."

I get that and I think he's not told us everything or close to everything. But the 3 sides for 2 years is crap and I'd definitely be in favour of another means of construction for the new North that gives us some fans behind the goal.

[Chris Harte]

Early in the interview Heck said that he wanted to understand what was important to the fans, and "I think there's nothing better than history"

I would hope this would rule out a move away from VP.

[LeeB]

Maybe Chris is, like me, a fan of the brutalist masterpiece that is the North Stand.

[curiousorange]

Townley says he understands there are no plans to move from VP. But this time yesterday we all thought there were plans to demolish the North Stand and rebuild it.