Villa Park Redevelopment

[VillaTim]

Doubt they'll want to lose the gas lamp lounge , holds quite a few in there paying premium prices.

[pauliewalnuts]

The bottom terrace is pretty shallow from when it was standing.  Imagine it could be rejig to put more on.

How would they do that?

They can't create space which simply isn't there.

[VillaTim]

Mole came up with the subterranean pitch idea .

[London Villan]

No idea if it is feasible, but can the lower level of boxes be removed with new rows of seats replacing them.

[pauliewalnuts]

How many seats would that actually add?

Probably about the same as the number of seats currently in there.

[London Villan]

300/400 or more probably.

[VILLA MOLE]

Mole came up with the subterranean pitch idea .

i never live that one down 😳😃 .  I thought if you can have a steeper rake you could fit more in

[VillaTim]

Mole came up with the subterranean pitch idea .

i never live that one down 😳😃 .  I thought if you can have a steeper rake you could fit more in

If they didn't want the Gas Lamp lounge, they could put like a temporary mezzanine level between the lower north and upper which could possibly get a couple of thousand on it. Might look a bit odd but no worse than those 2 levels of office windows as it looks down there .

[Des Little]

[/quote
After seeing this image and seeing things mentioned about the boxes being taken out, I wonder if they are carrying on the the same profile as the lower WL to the Lower North to fill in the corner and have steeper seating which will give a better view and maybe add a few more seats, maybe it then can be carried on around the lower north next summer

I have no actual knowledge of what is happening, just throwing a thought out there

So to me it appears that the last couple of rows are being taken out, but only in two blocks? Seems strange?

[Pat McMahon]

Mole came up with the subterranean pitch idea .

i never live that one down 😳😃 .  I thought if you can have a steeper rake you could fit more in

They did this when Wembley was rebuilt 20 years ago and the current pitch is about 6m lower than old Wembley. Probably easier to do when you’re rebuilding the whole stadium

[KevinGage]

Porto (at their old ground) and a Spanish side whose name escapes me did it as well.

Rangers were looking at it a few years ago n'all, though hasn't happened. Cost/ benefit balance prob way too much in favour of the former.

Ibrox chiefs have also carried out an investigation into the possibility of adding half a dozen rows of seats around the pitch if the playing surface is lowered.

[pablo_picasso]

Mole came up with the subterranean pitch idea .

i never live that one down 😳😃 .  I thought if you can have a steeper rake you could fit more in

It's not such a daft idea. The SoFi Stadium that the LA Rams play in has something similar. Its 100 foot below ground level. It has to be in the ground where it is because its close to LAX & tall buildings affect radar apparently...

[VillaTim]

Sunderland feels like it is too .

[Des Little]

Isn’t there a high water table underneath VP that would make this a non starter?

[KevinGage]

Has been mentioned, aye.

There was a rowing lake at the Lower Grounds before VP was a thing back in the Victorian era. Simon Inglis mentioned it IIRC in his excellent Villa Park 100 Years book.