Villa Park Redevelopment

[chrisw1]

We don't have to make it pay though, we just need to significantly increase our income and the new stand would have done that.

We have a generational manager.  The club are throwing away their opportunity to do everything they can to back him because Heck is disappointed that people won't pay £150 for 5 pints of Morreti, as many frankfurters as they can eat and some of the shittest seats in the stadium.

[Pat Mustard]

The big matches are the easy sells though - try selling 5000 premium seats for Bournemouth, Luton or Crystal Palace... which we'd have to do to make it pay 90% capacity - for 25+ games every season. We aren't at that point yet.

I'm as disappointed as anyone about the decision, but I can see why there is caution, when added to the other factors too.

The club have done stuff like this before though haven't they i.e. to get access to tickets for a 'gold' level match, you also have to buy tickets for x number of other games?  They might not charge them all at the same level, but they could make enough over the piece to hit the numbers they want by charging an absolute fortune for 8-10 biggest matches.

By the way, I'm not in favour of any of this.  It is taking the piss out of everyone who supported the club through all of the shit we suffered over the last 15 years, and it's alienating us dangerously if we ever have another downturn.  Logically, however, I think this is what Heck has been brought in to do - to absolutely squeeze every last penny he can out of the current set-up before any redevelopment, and build the conditions where there is a large enough number of people who will pay £200+ for a single game.

[chrisw1]

Do we think that at present, there is a market for 5000 premium seats to be sold at every single match? Starting a £150 up to say £900 per seat.

£900 for a seat , what do you get for that ?

Anything less than Kylie sitting on your lap would be a disappointment at that price.

[VillaTim]

Do we think that at present, there is a market for 5000 premium seats to be sold at every single match? Starting a £150 up to say £900 per seat.

£900 for a seat , what do you get for that ?

programme, lanyard, chicken dinner and a seat with elbow rests

[pauliewalnuts]

Do we think that at present, there is a market for 5000 premium seats to be sold at every single match? Starting a £150 up to say £900 per seat.

£900 for a seat , what do you get for that ?

programme, lanyard, chicken dinner and a seat with elbow rests

Maybe even a working toilet where the floor doesn't look like the Battle of Passchendaele.

[VillaTim]

Do we think that at present, there is a market for 5000 premium seats to be sold at every single match? Starting a £150 up to say £900 per seat.

£900 for a seat , what do you get for that ?

programme, lanyard, chicken dinner and a seat with elbow rests

Maybe even a working toilet where the floor doesn't look like the Battle of Passchendaele.

that's available as a bolt-on

[London Villan]

Similar to what get at chelsea, spurs or man city for £2-£3k…

[pauliewalnuts]

I bet Man City struggle to sell many at that sort of price.

[London Villan]

This could be yours for £2500 per person for the wolves game - only game still available this season.

https://www.mancity.com/hospitality/autograph?_gl=1*e3jgo5*_ga*MjA1NzE1MTM0Ni4xNzA5NzUxMzgy*_ga_83D496C6PL*MTcwOTc1MTM4Mi4xLjEuMTcwOTc1MTU3Ni41MC4wLjA.*_ga_QFRL9KTV4P*MTcwOTc1MTM4Mi4xLjEuMTcwOTc1MTU3Ni42MC4wLjA.

[VillaTim]

Similar to what get at chelsea, spurs or man city for £2-£3k…

We did something with work at Chelsea last season when we won 2-0 , you get the usual crap - programme, lanyard, silly food, padded seat . This package came with the added bonus Trevor Chabollah came in afterwards and scowled at everyone for 3 mins 

[Dante Lavelli]

Corporate seats largely exist in a different market to other tickets.  They’re rarely purchased by individuals or on a match-by-match basis, instead businesses buy X seats for the season using company money which is written off against tax.  The sums charged are largely irrelevant if there’s a perception that deals can be struck etc.  The people who attend would probably never spend their own money on an equivalent ticket.

I reckon we would be by far the biggest attraction in the midlands (mainly due to the pitiful state of the other clubs) so we could charge a decent premium without offending the average fan as they’re not in competition.

The current offering is a bad blend of both worlds, probably taking the worst from each.

[Chris Harte]

I read somewhere that the types that do the corporate thing tend to prefer seats to the side of the pitch rather than behind the goal. This made me wonder whether the club were planning on doing a major rebuild with the Doug Ellis Stand before the North Stand (one that might require moving the road and purchasing of properties behind it). But then Dante's post about companies buying the tickets as a tax write-off rather than individuals makes a lot of sense, and makes me wonder a side-view or a behind-goal view really matter that much if you have the padded seats, five-course meal, free bar and haven't pulled the wedge from your own pockets.

I still don't think we're going to move though. Heck saying the original plan seemed to be "too much, too soon", as well as his assertion from the same interview that he "loves history" is enough to convince me of this.

[pauliewalnuts]

A side-on view is miles better than behind the goals, not even close. Especially for the profile of people who use those corporate seats, who just want it to look exactly like it does when they're watching it on telly.

[VillaTim]

Also , we need that side on view of corporate on the telly as they kick off the 2nd half and nobody has bothered to come back. That's when we'll know we've made it as a big club in the modern football era.

[pauliewalnuts]

Also , we need that side on view of corporate on the telly as they kick off the 2nd half and nobody has bothered to come back. That's when we'll know we've made it as a big club in the modern football era.

That's one thing that really concerns me, it is going to look fucking awful seeing a three-tier band of empty seats on tv because of that.