Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[Skerra]

I’m getting a bit lost with all this politics stuff.

Surely Heck is bang in line with 2 tier Kier in expecting those with the broadest shoulders to pay GA+ to subside the rest?

It’s not to subsidise ‘the rest’ at all it’s to replace the GA plebs with the nirvana of a GA+ price paying only stadium. 

Nobody in GA should get carried with the thought that they want us there…we should be grateful they let us use their league one facilities stadium to watch ‘their’ wonderful team.

Man is a football parasite

I see a bit humour is lost on here.

But if you want a serious debate about strategic marketing and pricing then bring it on.

Heck isn’t a football parasite, he’s simply trying to get to a target income.  The more he gets from GA+, the cheaper he can price the ‘normal’ tickets.   

It’s not a difficult concept to get your head around - after all it’s always been cheaper to stand on the holte than sit in the upper trinity.

I think this is probably bollocks to be honest. The everyday tickets arent getting any cheaper whether more corporate is sold or not.

Correct and he is reducing the number of GA seats! Yes, he is reducing our capacity so he can squeeze more GA + in.  We are headed towards being an Arsenal or a Chelsea.

[Skerra]

I agree with you both. Can’t believe someone would think Heck is making more GA+ spaces so he can reduce GA tickets. Screwing as much as he can from everybody!!
Hope it never happens again but, if we were to get relegated at some stage, fans will have long memories if the Club come a begging!

[Chip Butty 111]

Anyone failing to understand the folly of GA+ in its present format needs to have a quick look now on the OS. Multiple areas around the ground available for Everton, one of the cheaper games this season. In K6 alone there a 41 seats available. It's overpriced for a start, and they have over estimated how many people want the product. Having empty seats to watch the best team we've had in a long time is madness.

[Drummond]

Man U tickets were announced on X 12 minutes before they went on sale. I got an email 1 minute before they went on sale.

To be fair, the date has been in the diary for ages.

That maybe however, they hadn’t announced when they would be on sale and they’re now sold out unless you fork out for hospitality!

Yes, they did. It's been at 5pm in my calendar from the Villa for ages. Bournemouth go on sale to members at 5pm on 30th. Palace at 5pm on 28th October. Brentford the week after at 5pm.

There are singles available for ManU.

[algy]

I’m getting a bit lost with all this politics stuff.

Surely Heck is bang in line with 2 tier Kier in expecting those with the broadest shoulders to pay GA+ to subside the rest?

It’s not to subsidise ‘the rest’ at all it’s to replace the GA plebs with the nirvana of a GA+ price paying only stadium. 

Nobody in GA should get carried with the thought that they want us there…we should be grateful they let us use their league one facilities stadium to watch ‘their’ wonderful team.

Man is a football parasite

I see a bit humour is lost on here.

But if you want a serious debate about strategic marketing and pricing then bring it on.

Heck isn’t a football parasite, he’s simply trying to get to a target income.  The more he gets from GA+, the cheaper he can price the ‘normal’ tickets.   

It’s not a difficult concept to get your head around - after all it’s always been cheaper to stand on the holte than sit in the upper trinity.

I think the whole point is that it isn’t getting cheaper. Normal seats are being taken away to provide more GA+ capacity AND the GA tickets for the Champions League games are horrendously priced even for the “cheap” seats.

I’d guess that trend isn’t likely to stop until we’ve got to the maximum feasible GA+ capacity. And anyone thinking that the warehouse development is anything other than a cynical move to do increase GA+ at the expense of GA seats that is in for a nasty surprise.

Unfortunately, I can’t see this going any other way. GA will be rare as rocking horse shit as it’ll be almost exclusively season ticket holders. A huge proportion of the rest of the ground will be a case of paying through the nose to eat shit buffet food and sit in GA+ seats or not going.

This to me is what Heck means by “too much too fast”. As far as he’s concerned there’s no point diluting what’s there by increasing capacity if the same financial gains can be made in the existing footprint by coercing casual fans in to paying for some kind of premium “experience”. Normalising £85+ tickets. Cos that’s what’s happening here, they’ll “simplify” ticket prices by moving category A games up to Champs League prices whilst marketing it as having “frozen” Champions League ticket prices as if it’s doing everyone a favour. Or only increased by 5% or similar. But it’ll be OK because there’ll be some fluff piece in the paper a week before about how hard we have to work to compete in the transfer market because PSR. So you’ll eat the turd sandwich, and enjoy it, because you’re there to be milked - not to have an opinion.

I’m in a bad mood this evening, if you’d not guessed.

[RamboandBruno]

I’m getting a bit lost with all this politics stuff.

Surely Heck is bang in line with 2 tier Kier in expecting those with the broadest shoulders to pay GA+ to subside the rest?

It’s not to subsidise ‘the rest’ at all it’s to replace the GA plebs with the nirvana of a GA+ price paying only stadium. 

Nobody in GA should get carried with the thought that they want us there…we should be grateful they let us use their league one facilities stadium to watch ‘their’ wonderful team.

Man is a football parasite

I see a bit humour is lost on here.

But if you want a serious debate about strategic marketing and pricing then bring it on.

Heck isn’t a football parasite, he’s simply trying to get to a target income.  The more he gets from GA+, the cheaper he can price the ‘normal’ tickets.   

It’s not a difficult concept to get your head around - after all it’s always been cheaper to stand on the holte than sit in the upper trinity.

I think the whole point is that it isn’t getting cheaper. Normal seats are being taken away to provide more GA+ capacity AND the GA tickets for the Champions League games are horrendously priced even for the “cheap” seats.

I’d guess that trend isn’t likely to stop until we’ve got to the maximum feasible GA+ capacity. And anyone thinking that the warehouse development is anything other than a cynical move to do increase GA+ at the expense of GA seats that is in for a nasty surprise.

Unfortunately, I can’t see this going any other way. GA will be rare as rocking horse shit as it’ll be almost exclusively season ticket holders. A huge proportion of the rest of the ground will be a case of paying through the nose to eat shit buffet food and sit in GA+ seats or not going.

This to me is what Heck means by “too much too fast”. As far as he’s concerned there’s no point diluting what’s there by increasing capacity if the same financial gains can be made in the existing footprint by coercing casual fans in to paying for some kind of premium “experience”. Normalising £85+ tickets. Cos that’s what’s happening here, they’ll “simplify” ticket prices by moving category A games up to Champs League prices whilst marketing it as having “frozen” Champions League ticket prices as if it’s doing everyone a favour. Or only increased by 5% or similar. But it’ll be OK because there’ll be some fluff piece in the paper a week before about how hard we have to work to compete in the transfer market because PSR. So you’ll eat the turd sandwich, and enjoy it, because you’re there to be milked - not to have an opinion.

I’m in a bad mood this evening, if you’d not guessed.

Its a depressing but equally excellent analysis

[ChicagoLion]

I think Algy makes a good point, it is a question of what is the financially optimal GA+ capacity.
GA+ away area must be on the cards.

[oldhill_avfc]

The point I’m making is that GA tickets are cheaper than they otherwise might have been - if there weren’t any GA+ then the season ticket prices would have gone up by more.

It’s a simple model - used by many industries years.

[Chip Butty 111]

I think Algy makes a good point, it is a question of what is the financially optimal GA+ capacity.
GA+ away area must be on the cards.

Away tickets are £30 I think across the premier league?. Precisely to stop people like Heck destroying the game we love.

[Villan82]

I know I am showing my age but it breaks my heart to think we are heading to a scenario where Aston Villa has one of the smaller grounds in the league. All because we hired somebody who thinks the only fans that count are the wealthy prawn sandwhich eaters

[Des Little]

Heck’s vision is going to bear fruit, because we’ll get a full house for at least 3 if not all of the CL games, which bear out his vision that the demand - and the money - is out there. It’s not inconceivable that we’ll be seeing the first £100 GA match day tickets being offered at VP within the next year or two.

[Chip Butty 111]

To illustrate just how crazy prices are at Villa and in England in general..and more importantly how cynical that pricing is, take a look at this seasons cost for a disabled fan at Borussia Dortmund
Season ticket(17) matches plus 3 CL games is £218
Villa v Bayern for a disabled fan is £85...for I game.
 

[Chip Butty 111]

Heck’s vision is going to bear fruit, because we’ll get a full house for at least 3 if not all of the CL games, which bear out his vision that the demand - and the money - is out there. It’s not inconceivable that we’ll be seeing the first £100 GA match day tickets being offered at VP within the next year or two.

For the Champions League GA+ will do well. Unfortunately in the League it's sales are very poor. Arsenal didn't sell well and as I said earlier we have loads of seats for Everton unsold. As it stands the product doesn't meet the price point. Games like Brentford and Bournemouth will be mostly unsold.

[Gareth]

I’m getting a bit lost with all this politics stuff.

Surely Heck is bang in line with 2 tier Kier in expecting those with the broadest shoulders to pay GA+ to subside the rest?

It’s not to subsidise ‘the rest’ at all it’s to replace the GA plebs with the nirvana of a GA+ price paying only stadium. 

Nobody in GA should get carried with the thought that they want us there…we should be grateful they let us use their league one facilities stadium to watch ‘their’ wonderful team.

Man is a football parasite

I see a bit humour is lost on here.

But if you want a serious debate about strategic marketing and pricing then bring it on.

Heck isn’t a football parasite, he’s simply trying to get to a target income.  The more he gets from GA+, the cheaper he can price the ‘normal’ tickets.   

It’s not a difficult concept to get your head around - after all it’s always been cheaper to stand on the holte than sit in the upper trinity.

I think the whole point is that it isn’t getting cheaper. Normal seats are being taken away to provide more GA+ capacity AND the GA tickets for the Champions League games are horrendously priced even for the “cheap” seats.

I’d guess that trend isn’t likely to stop until we’ve got to the maximum feasible GA+ capacity. And anyone thinking that the warehouse development is anything other than a cynical move to do increase GA+ at the expense of GA seats that is in for a nasty surprise.

Unfortunately, I can’t see this going any other way. GA will be rare as rocking horse shit as it’ll be almost exclusively season ticket holders. A huge proportion of the rest of the ground will be a case of paying through the nose to eat shit buffet food and sit in GA+ seats or not going.

This to me is what Heck means by “too much too fast”. As far as he’s concerned there’s no point diluting what’s there by increasing capacity if the same financial gains can be made in the existing footprint by coercing casual fans in to paying for some kind of premium “experience”. Normalising £85+ tickets. Cos that’s what’s happening here, they’ll “simplify” ticket prices by moving category A games up to Champs League prices whilst marketing it as having “frozen” Champions League ticket prices as if it’s doing everyone a favour. Or only increased by 5% or similar. But it’ll be OK because there’ll be some fluff piece in the paper a week before about how hard we have to work to compete in the transfer market because PSR. So you’ll eat the turd sandwich, and enjoy it, because you’re there to be milked - not to have an opinion.

I’m in a bad mood this evening, if you’d not guessed.

Articulated much better than I did Algy

[purpletrousers]

Man U tickets were announced on X 12 minutes before they went on sale. I got an email 1 minute before they went on sale.

To be fair, the date has been in the diary for ages.

That maybe however, they hadn’t announced when they would be on sale and they’re now sold out unless you fork out for hospitality!

Yes, they did. It's been at 5pm in my calendar from the Villa for ages. Bournemouth go on sale to members at 5pm on 30th. Palace at 5pm on 28th October. Brentford the week after at 5pm.

There are singles available for ManU.

https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2024/august/27/Ticketing-details-for-2024-25/