Villa Park Redevelopment

[Simon Page]

I wouldn't be surprised if no assurances have been sought or given over Witton Station.

[Dante Lavelli]

I reckon it’d need a decade from now to acquire the land, likely from multiple landowners, agree deals with other stakeholders, get planning and to finally build the thing.

I think it is their long term plan, despite what they’re saying publicly.

My guess is that they’re looking at developing villa park with a payback within that timescale. The North Stand and Villa Live would possibly have needed a longer period to get their money back.

If they have any plans to relocate the stadium out of B6 then the proposed 30m redevelopment of Witton Station along with the tunnel being built beneath it would be a total waste of everyone's time and money. WMCA who are jointly funding it would surely have insisted on a guarantee that Aston Villa FC would be using the site for a very long time. Imagine doing all that work then the club announcing plans to move away. The more I think about it the more it makes long term sense for the club to be looking at buying land around Villa Park for redevelopment or a total rebuild.

Fair point.  Have they committed to this though? I thought it was at consultation stage or something like that.  You’d hope the club would be straight with the council (especially as they’ll need their help in the future) so whether this happens might be a good barometer of their actual plans (regardless of what’s said).

[jon collett]

All there has been so far in Witton Station is a feasibility study,

The business case hasn’t been made or agreed.

So no assurances can be given!

[The Edge]

I wouldn't be surprised if no assurances have been sought or given over Witton Station.

I would. Without Villa Park being there there's no justification for spending 30 million quid on Witton Station. It's true that the work is also  linked to us getting the Euros in 2028 but that's just a couple of group stage games. That alone wouldn't justify spending 30m. They spent similar on Perry Barr station for the Commonwealth games but that was largely central government money and that's become a bit of a white elephant because it should have linked up with the shuttle bus along the A34 but that never materialised.

[TelfordVilla]

Time for the Perry Barr pets to return to a brand spanking new 75k stadium in Perry Barr Park next to the harriers athletics stadium.

[Simon Page]

You might be right Edge. I'm just going by my experience of people not looking too hard to find reasons not to instigate a vote-winning, legacy idea. Villa Park is a good justification, so let's not worry about what may or may not happen in the future.

[DB]

The 200 tickets reason is utter BS. Heck knows the reasons for this. The stadium is sold out every game and we have a 30k ST waiting list, which may or may not be actual people 'wanting' a ST.
The corporate waiting list good too, so what are the  reasons does he not want to expand / develop the stadium? It doesn't add up.

[tomd2103]

Considering the above, is it likely that they'll be assessing multi sport / use options to widen opportunities for revenue as a principle consideration? That has been a key driver for the updated bernabeu and Spurs. If that is the case, then shelving the current plans avoids baked in constraints to that - a moveable pitch for example.

I think this will definitely be the case.  It is already the largest stadium venue in the whole of the Midlands and the close proximity to the city centre, make it a good location for big events.

Expect that we will see more concerts etc. over the coming years.

[PeterWithe]

Considering the above, is it likely that they'll be assessing multi sport / use options to widen opportunities for revenue as a principle consideration? That has been a key driver for the updated bernabeu and Spurs. If that is the case, then shelving the current plans avoids baked in constraints to that - a moveable pitch for example.

I think this will definitely be the case.  It is already the largest stadium venue in the whole of the Midlands and the close proximity to the city centre, make it a good location for big events.

Expect that we will see more concerts etc. over the coming years.

As an aside, Hecks previous employers, the 76ers, are moving away from the stadium owned and managed by Comcast, our new part owners, to a new one. Reason given that they don't own the right to get profits from the concerts, conferences, other events that take place in the same stadium.

So he'll certainly have a very good feel for what makes money at these events and what kind of stadium is needed to best profit from them.

[Villan82]

There was a consultation in about 2021 about the future of Villa Park and I remember distinctly two things. One staying at Villa Park was important to the fans and two the four stand aesthetic made the stadium unique.

[VILLA MOLE]

Sitting here now ,  curious how they will gain another 3000 seats other than a temporary stand in the corner or something

[AlexAlexCropley]

Sitting here now ,  curious how they will gain another 3000 seats other than a temporary stand in the corner or something

Ball-boy stools along the cinder track?

[DB]

Sitting here now ,  curious how they will gain another 3000 seats other than a temporary stand in the corner or something

Said before, but removal of exec boxes and seats put in?

[Risso]

Sitting here now ,  curious how they will gain another 3000 seats other than a temporary stand in the corner or something

Said before, but removal of exec boxes and seats put in?

They’ll never do that, would reduce income.

[DB]

Sitting here now ,  curious how they will gain another 3000 seats other than a temporary stand in the corner or something

Said before, but removal of exec boxes and seats put in?

They’ll never do that, would reduce income.

Move the boxes to the corners, I.e. build new ones.