Villa Park Redevelopment

[PeterWithe]

Pretty underwhelming.

[Percy McCarthy]

Getting my hopes up again of getting a season ticket before I die.

[IFWaters]

Well looks like it's going to happen. Sorry but architecturally I think it's really disappointing. Given the outline is showing revised capacity of only 15 seats less than the much larger purslow scheme I think it will be very cramped.

Martin O'Neill once said we are a Rolls Royce of a club. This looks like a tarted up 50 year old Astra.

I don't like the Pontins tent and Devils trident of those Manchester twats but it's a completely new 100k stadium.

Feels like make do and mend again. I've no problem with staying at VP like Liverpool at Anfield but they have properly gone for it.

It all stinks of the Chris Heck approach to everything, maximising the bucks flowing in and delivering the bare minimum for fans. You see it all over in the catering, the ticketing and then this. On field I have every respect for what Emery and his team have done, off field the exact opposite.

[Percy McCarthy]

The optimistic voice that is often in my head is telling me that we’re doing everything as organically as possible, kind of like we have with team building, while knowing the investment and wealth is there if we need a big gear change when the time is right.

Stating the obvious here, but under PSR/SCR, we need revenue to grow to allow further investment.

[Dante Lavelli]

The optimistic voice that is often in my head is telling me that we’re doing everything as organically as possible, kind of like we have with team building, while knowing the investment and wealth is there if we need a big gear change when the time is right.

Stating the obvious here, but PSR/SCR, we need revenue to grow to allow further investment.

Spot on Percy.  Strikes me we are achieving most the benefits of the Purslow Plan but at a fraction of the cost.  The revenue per ticket might be less as the product is not quite as good however that just lends itself to fewer GA+ tickets and more for the average fan. Which is what we have been asking for.

[Percy McCarthy]

The optimistic voice that is often in my head is telling me that we’re doing everything as organically as possible, kind of like we have with team building, while knowing the investment and wealth is there if we need a big gear change when the time is right.

Stating the obvious here, but PSR/SCR, we need revenue to grow to allow further investment.

Spot on Percy.  Strikes me we are achieving most the benefits of the Purslow Plan but at a fraction of the cost.  The revenue per ticket might be less as the product is not quite as good however that just lends itself to fewer GA+ tickets and more for the average fan. Which is what we have been asking for.

Indeed. And if we have ambitions to make the move to a new 60/70k state of the art stadium, it’s probably a bit premature to make that leap from a 42k Villa Park.

[Stu82]

From the aerial view, it looks like the footprint of stand will grow greatly, so I would think more space and facilities  will be available.
Not as visually pleasing, but seems to answer the capacity problem.

Edit, just seen other images, which do not give a much bigger footprint.

[Brazilian Villain]

Not as visually pleasing, but seems to answer the capacity problem.

The rear facade with an outline of Heck's face on it may not be to everyone's tastes.

[Dante Lavelli]

From the aerial view, it looks like the footprint of stand will grow greatly, so I would think more space and facilities  will be available.
Not as visually pleasing, but seems to answer the capacity problem.

Pretty sure that is the redline boundary for the land considered owned by the North Stand, not the building’s future footprint. It probably forms part of the planning as they will need to re-grade the external areas, plant some trees, address surface water etc as part of this application.  The other half falls under the Warehouse application I assume.

[Stu82]

Not as visually pleasing, but seems to answer the capacity problem.

The rear facade with an outline of Heck's face on it may not be to everyone's tastes.

Wouldn’t be a winner.

[Brazilian Villain]

Not as visually pleasing, but seems to answer the capacity problem.

The rear facade with an outline of Heck's face on it may not be to everyone's tastes.

Wouldn’t be a winner.

OTOH it could become iconic. e.g.

[Stu82]

Not as visually pleasing, but seems to answer the capacity problem.

The rear facade with an outline of Heck's face on it may not be to everyone's tastes.

Wouldn’t be a winner.

OTOH it could become iconic. e.g.

You could get a Doug image for the other side too!

[pauliewalnuts]

I think this is in large part about keeping the ground open at all four sides in a period where on the pitch we are growing, whilst we add capacity.

I think it absolutely makes sense - with the proviso it does not look like a cheap job.

It is also clearly not just some sort of hypothetical thing - it is no coincidence these have leaked now, literally weeks before that timetable shows planning permission submission (when there would be no more hiding it).

[edgysatsuma89]

Not as visually pleasing, but seems to answer the capacity problem.

The rear facade with an outline of Heck's face on it may not be to everyone's tastes.

Wouldn’t be a winner.

OTOH it could become iconic. e.g.

You could get a Doug image for the other side too!

I bet Heck would be facing the wrong way.

[FatSam]

It does seem like they backed away from the Purslow scheme due to the cost and disruption, and have been investigating ways to add capacity more economically. I wonder whether the extent that it extends out to the rear of the existing stand is designed to avoid the below ground utilities that would have needed to be diverted for the Purslow scheme, to avoid unnecessary cost and disruption, and enable it to be constructed whilst the stand remains in use.

As others have written, I suppose this strategy doesn’t commit us to Villa Park indefinitely in the same way that spending £200m on a completely new stand would’ve. In a lot of ways it seems like a sensible way to test ongoing demand, especially given the rampant build cost inflation over recent years.