Villa Park Redevelopment

[Rory]

I’ve only sat in the North a couple of times and I’m convinced it was built at a time people were all 5ft 2. Because no way would you build it that cramped in 2023.

I'm 6'1"

You don't look it 😉

But I've always felt this way about everything from train and bus seats to VP. I'm about 5'10 barefoot and almost every bus, train, aeroplane and stadium seat digs into my knees.

I don't know how actually tall people cope.

Sat in the Lower North once and it was just about acceptable, but in the Upper I had to spread my legs so much I looked like Andrew Tate. I could've teabagged the bloke in front while still seated.

[Bad English]

I hope you're proud of yourself Mr Heck. You've RUINED Christmas for millions of young Villa fans around the world.

Well you know, you do the same at most matches but 'mostbofnidb

We can all edit.

Excellent point. Well-made.

[ADVILLAFAN]

When I went to Anfield, I was convinced it was made for children, as it was impossible to sit down, with the lack of leg room.

And I'm 5'10".

[sid1964]

Reading some of the comments on this subject, it surprises me how angry some people are, maybe they should take a sledgehammer to Villa Park on Friday evening and start knocking down the North Stand or maybe start a chant of "all we are saying is knock down the North Stand"

The decision to not knock down and rebuild the north stand would not have just been made by Heck, this decision would have been agreed upon with the owners etc...

Hopefully we don't lose on Friday because judging by the comments, this site will go into full melt down.

[ChicagoLion]

Reading this thread has shown me people on here are really missing being able to have a good old moan.


Very valid point someone made a few posts ago the increased seats in the now shelved plan were majority in the hospitality high pricing bracket. This could very well be what he means by too many seats too soon not the "lack of faith / balls/ ambition/ etc" as has been chucked around.

Why should we even be guessing what he means?
His job is to make decisions and communicate effectively, neither of which he seems capable of.

[itbrvilla]

It will always be unacceptable. If the Scousers can find architects to build behind, then so can we.

If a ground move is off the table, then something else is afoot. It wouldn't surprise me if CPOs and a total revamp of the area wasn't in the new vision.

Surely that depends on what the existing stand infrastructure and services are like and if adequate.

[Kimaster1976]

I'm as pissed off as the next man that ground redevelopments have been shelved. I couldn't wait for a new North stand then a new Doug Ellis stand. We would have had a truly unique 60k wonder stadium.

But to say we are now gonna be left behind and can't reach the next level staying as is for the next several years is untrue.

Chelsea have the exact same size stadium. Has it stopped them becoming a world force with several Premier leagues and Champions Leagues to there name? No.

[frank black]

It’s all a bit strange to me. Why get a third party (Venture capitalist) on board and then immediately scrap the plans to increase capacity and make absolutely no alternative solution. Surely the demand is there.

There’s something in the pipeline . Let’s hope it’s not like a cunning plan from Baldrick

[nick harper]

I'm as pissed off as the next man that ground redevelopments have been shelved. I couldn't wait for a new North stand then a new Doug Ellis stand. We would have had a truly unique 60k wonder stadium.

But to say we are now gonna be left behind and can't reach the next level staying as is for the next several years is untrue.

Chelsea have the exact same size stadium. Has it stopped them becoming a world force with several Premier leagues and Champions Leagues to there name? No.

It’s not a good look though. All our competitors, including those we are currently punching above our weight against, have expanded, are expanding, or planning further development to meet demand, including Chelsea. We meanwhile, are not sure about demand, and have shelved pretty modest plans. It feels small time, and for those of us who have been around a long time, the kind of mentality we have seen at the club for a very long time.

[luke95]

Alexandra stadium & Birmingham City Council selling off its assets........ 2+2=5 ?

[johnc]

I'm as pissed off as the next man that ground redevelopments have been shelved. I couldn't wait for a new North stand then a new Doug Ellis stand. We would have had a truly unique 60k wonder stadium.

But to say we are now gonna be left behind and can't reach the next level staying as is for the next several years is untrue.

Chelsea have the exact same size stadium. Has it stopped them becoming a world force with several Premier leagues and Champions Leagues to there name? No.

I think I would take the Lower Grounds cash before aping Chelsea's money raising antics

[Risso]

I'm as pissed off as the next man that ground redevelopments have been shelved. I couldn't wait for a new North stand then a new Doug Ellis stand. We would have had a truly unique 60k wonder stadium.

But to say we are now gonna be left behind and can't reach the next level staying as is for the next several years is untrue.

Chelsea have the exact same size stadium. Has it stopped them becoming a world force with several Premier leagues and Champions Leagues to there name? No.

Chelsea charge many times what we do, and have had two owners willing to pump in billions of pounds, so it's not a good comparison.

[pauliewalnuts]

I'm as pissed off as the next man that ground redevelopments have been shelved. I couldn't wait for a new North stand then a new Doug Ellis stand. We would have had a truly unique 60k wonder stadium.

But to say we are now gonna be left behind and can't reach the next level staying as is for the next several years is untrue.

Chelsea have the exact same size stadium. Has it stopped them becoming a world force with several Premier leagues and Champions Leagues to there name? No.

Chelsea with their stadium in literally one of the richest areas of Europe, and 20 years of Russian money funding them, and who are still desperate for a bigger ground.

Hardly comparable.

[Villan82]

I am struggling to see the logic in what Heck clumsily announced. It makes absolutely no sense and is going to hold us back.

The only logic I can see is that he's a politician and he likes to be seen doing things differently to his predecessor. He has probably spent 6 months trying to convince the owners to scrap this and he broke them down. Villa Park was always among the elite grounds because the founders of the club had vision and ambition. It has now fallen behind these nine clubs

Man U
Man City
Tottenham
Liverpool
Arsenal
Everton
Newcastle
West Ham
Sunderland

[tomd2103]

I'm as pissed off as the next man that ground redevelopments have been shelved. I couldn't wait for a new North stand then a new Doug Ellis stand. We would have had a truly unique 60k wonder stadium.

But to say we are now gonna be left behind and can't reach the next level staying as is for the next several years is untrue.

Chelsea have the exact same size stadium. Has it stopped them becoming a world force with several Premier leagues and Champions Leagues to there name? No.

It’s not a good look though. All our competitors, including those we are currently punching above our weight against, have expanded, are expanding, or planning further development to meet demand, including Chelsea. We meanwhile, are not sure about demand, and have shelved pretty modest plans. It feels small time, and for those of us who have been around a long time, the kind of mentality we have seen at the club for a very long time.

To play devil's advocate slightly, maybe it is just for now while all options are considered and it's not to say it won't happen in the near future.  Maybe the various authorities  aren't playing ball with the upgrade of the train station and maybe concerns have been raised at certain levels about the impact of having an extra 10,000 people in the area without sufficient transport upgrades.  Maybe they have thought it's better to just put a pause on it for now, while all options are assessed.

I do think he worded it poorly in that interview though.  "Too many seats, too soon" makes us look a bit small-time and it could have been worded way differently.  Like with the badge, all he really needed to say was that he was still new in the position and wanted to look at all options before making such a big decision.