Villa Park Redevelopment

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Build a new bigger stand on the mass of ground available behind the existing north stand. Start pretty well as soon as you like. When completed as soon as the season is finished, you knock down the old north stand and using hydraulic lifts move the new structure forward the 80 metres or so into place. Existing technology has moved larger structures greater distances than what this would involve.
 
The extra cost of hydraulics on a movable structure should be far less than the income lost from a reduced capacity for two years as well as not losing the atmosphere temporarily with a 3 sided stadium.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_relocation

[London Villan]

In the time of media echo chambers, there is no-one to question any of this. I doubt he reads H&V or is even aware of it.

[pauliewalnuts]

Build a new bigger stand on the mass of ground available behind the existing north stand. Start pretty well as soon as you like. When completed as soon as the season is finished, you knock down the old north stand and using hydraulic lifts move the new structure forward the 80 metres or so into place. Existing technology has moved larger structures greater distances than what this would involve.
 
The extra cost of hydraulics on a movable structure should be far less than the income lost from a reduced capacity for two years as well as not losing the atmosphere temporarily with a 3 sided stadium.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_relocation

I'm going to take a shot in the dark and suggest it's more complicated than that.

[jon collett]

And what great timing, on pitch screams ambition and progress, off pitch, it's him and his 42k will do shtick.

For whatever reason I think they thought they had to sneak it out the week before Xmas!

[Villan82]

And what great timing, on pitch screams ambition and progress, off pitch, it's him and his 42k will do shtick.

For whatever reason I think they thought they had to sneak it out the week before Xmas!

As I posted earlier it is almost a year to the day since they uploaded the 'flythrough the North Stand development video'. It was posted on 22 December 2022.

[RamboandBruno]

When I first heard this news I was relieved. My season ticket is on the front row of the North Stand Upper. I've got a great view, really like the fans around me and can obtain extra tickets near me for friends (both members and more casual supporters). I had braced myself for losing all of these benefits for two years at the very time we seem to be on the cusp of something special.

However, the talk of moving to the NEC has me worried. I've been going to VP for over sixty years and I love the Bartons before hand, the walk to the ground, the rituals, the memories. I actually find it easier to get away from VP than from my neighbouring clubs; Forest and Leicester.

A few years ago I went to see Atletico Madrid in the Vicente Calderon stadium. It was a bit like Newcastle as you could walk from the city centre, enjoying bars and restaurants on the way and feel the atmosphere growing as you approached the ground.

Now they've moved to a modern bowl miles from the city centre, near the airport and in a totally nondescript location.  I really don't want to be watching the game in a place like that.

Villa Park till I die.

Completely and utterly this. If we ever moved, that may be me done, not that it would matter to anyone but me probably. We have history in the bricks and mortar of our grounds that most if not all of those clubs that have moved to soulless bowls have ever had. The ground really is a massive part of what makes us who we are.

And I’ve been to Athletico Madrids new ground as well and it is just that a large, initially impressive, ultimately soulless place in the middle of fecking nowhere.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Is the LDV site alongside the spine rd?

[usav]

@usav - You seem to really be in Heck's corner on all of this.

Not at all, I'm just not into hysterics.  I said they owed us at the very least an official club announcement on the reasoning and what the new plans were going to be when they have them.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

There are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don't know.

Ha! You may actually have a point, for example what's the story with the Council and costs for Witton station, have the costs of building materials increased beyond the expected budget, how long do we expect the redevelopment to be on hold, are we waiting for a time when Villa aren't playing in the CL, are there no Villa fans who don't have season tickets and want to see games at Villa Park, have we abandoned attracting new supporters and what will happen if on the pitch we dominate English and European football for the next 50 years? Will it still be on hold?

My kingdom for a straight answer.

The Council are nothing whatsoever to do with paying for the station upgrade, nothing. And even if they were, this is the period in history where they are as unlikely to be able to as ever.

I get that but who is responsible, from what I understand Transport for West Midlands which falls under the WMCA. Grants both local and national are available via the Transport for West Midlands but I haven't heard a thing about the possibility. BCC do have a voice in who is appointed onto the TFWM committee. Lost in red tape? I have no idea.

[Olneythelonely]

There are known knowns, things we know that we know; and there are known unknowns, things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns, things we do not know we don't know.

Ha! You may actually have a point, for example what's the story with the Council and costs for Witton station, have the costs of building materials increased beyond the expected budget, how long do we expect the redevelopment to be on hold, are we waiting for a time when Villa aren't playing in the CL, are there no Villa fans who don't have season tickets and want to see games at Villa Park, have we abandoned attracting new supporters and what will happen if on the pitch we dominate English and European football for the next 50 years? Will it still be on hold?

My kingdom for a straight answer.

The Council are nothing whatsoever to do with paying for the station upgrade, nothing. And even if they were, this is the period in history where they are as unlikely to be able to as ever.

I get that but who is responsible, from what I understand Transport for West Midlands which falls under the WMCA. Grants both local and national are available via the Transport for West Midlands but I haven't heard a thing about the possibility. BCC do have a voice in who is appointed onto the TFWM committee. Lost in red tape? I have no idea.

Network Rail owns the railway property. Responsibility sits with whoever wants something done.

[Gareth]

Would they consider a compulsory PO of the land and properties around Villa Park?

Please no! Kick people out of their homes? This is supposed to be a football club rooted in its community not one rooting out its community

[paul_e]

Is the LDV site alongside the spine rd?

Yep, and a trainline.

[dave.woodhall]

I've tried to debate on Twitter but you don't get far before coming up against the there's land at the NEC and put more trains on there brick wall.

[LeeB]

Is the LDV site alongside the spine rd?

Yep, and a trainline.

If they bring back Castle Brom station as proposed that would 1 or 2 stops for me to the Villa.

I'm very much in the 'move the Villa closer to me' camp.

[tomd2103]

I drove through town today and past the old wholesale markets site that is now called Smithfield. It's still a huge derelict site and not a spade has been put in the ground regarding the proposed developments there. They used it for the commonwealth games two years ago and it held various events last summer. It got me thinking that's all. I would HATE us to leave Villa Park full stop.

I have no idea if it's big enough for a stadium, but a city centre ground negates the need for road and rail links for fans.

Let's not forget that people like Heck don't have the emotional link to Villa Park that we do.  People like him would probably.look at the number of Premier League teams that have moved to new stadiums over the past couple of decades and see the opportunities it might present, especially if it was in the city centre.

I can see where he is coming from about timing, it is probably the worst time in decades for us to knock down a stand and have a reduced capacity for two years.  It's tough to see when such a window would arise now for something on that scale to be done though.  It would have been a bold move, but when we were in the Championship.was the time to do it or to try and link it in with the Commonwealth Games when it was here.  I suppose the only thing with that was they only temporarily upgraded the Alexander Stadium, whereas they built new stadiums in Manchester and London when events were there.  If a similar 40,000 + stadium had been built in Birmingham for the games, we could have potentially moved in there for a couple of seasons while the work was done.  There are no other sports grounds big enough in the West Midlands and even with one stand missing, we would still have the biggest capacity of any of the football teams in the Midlands. 

I would be loathe for us to ever leave Villa Park and it would have to.be something spectacular (like the Spurs ground) in the city centre for the thought even to be entertained.  The NEC would be a non-startrer as although it probably ticks a lot of boxes for the likes of Heck, it is too far away and would feel too removed.