Fan Advisory Board

[chrisw1]

It does feel like that Lee.  They probably hope closing the Holte Suite will increase demand for the Terrace View.  Standing in piss in a 10 minute queue for the toilet and not being able to get a pint at half time will increase demand for the Terrace view etc.

[London Villan]

The Arsenal season tickets that we had at work were £3,500 each.

You got a free program, free beers at half time (pre poured). Once pre poured beers had gone, it was a pay bar.

Did you have to allocate a name for each match by phone, while waiting for 30 minutes on the phone because you can't do it online?

[Ads]

I dont see it like that. You're not going to change behaviours of people like me who want to spend, but have given up, by effectively maintaining the status quo or worsening it. You provide better opportunities to spend for all, as Tottenham have, Everton will and Liverpool are slowly doing.

At my nephews birthday on Sunday and I was chatting to a few mates who are season ticket holders at Anfield and the things they were saying about the stand to our left from the Anfield Road, might as well have been lifted from here. Same issues as with the Witton, the same that used to exist in the main stand. It's taken them the thick end of 10 years to sort 50% of it out and they're a tourist cash cow.

Shows the scale of the job in hand for what has fundamentally been 20 years of commercial neglect. They absolutely need to improve the upper Holte, amongst other concourses. The North is going to be remedied more dramatically, but Terrace View, Holte Suite being done first wrankles, as our exprience worsens. But they will do it all, because they're not going to leave cash on the table.

[Holte L2]

That is the point Rambo, they could increase revenues  without pissing everyone off. They have made the fatal mistake of losing trust whilst making no attempt to improve the facilities for the vast majority.
Everything  they do now is going to be viewed cynically because of the piss poor way they have gone about communicating.

Agreed.  Tap the low-hanging fruit, there's literally thousands of supporters wanting to spend money every week and unable to because of piss poor facilities and service.

Yeah, but I think ignoring the required improvements is part of plan, reduce basic tickets to just that and pay through the nose for anything resembling adequate service, the kind of Ryanair model without the cheap tickets in the first place.

If that is the plan, Heck will be gone within 18 months.

[aev]

The Arsenal season tickets that we had at work were £3,500 each.

You got a free program, free beers at half time (pre poured). Once pre poured beers had gone, it was a pay bar.

Did you have to allocate a name for each match by phone, while waiting for 30 minutes on the phone because you can't do it online?

Nope, and we got escalator travel thrown in.

[London Villan]

That stand at Liverpool is a similar vintage and scale to the Witton Land one - built over an existing stand, lack of space, lack of future-proofing (but also cost about £6m to build if recall correctly).  But if you compare that to what the North Stand was like for regular fans it was a massive improvement in terms of facilities.

With the leaders we have in place I'm guessing the returns have all been calculated. Would spending a couple of million upgrading the Holte's regular fan facilities offer the same return as the cost of implementing the Terrace View. I doubt it would.

[RamboandBruno]

I dont see it like that. You're not going to change behaviours of people like me who want to spend, but have given up, by effectively maintaining the status quo or worsening it. You provide better opportunities to spend for all, as Tottenham have, Everton will and Liverpool are slowly doing.

At my nephews birthday on Sunday and I was chatting to a few mates who are season ticket holders at Anfield and the things they were saying about the stand to our left from the Anfield Road, might as well have been lifted from here. Same issues as with the Witton, the same that used to exist in the main stand. It's taken them the thick end of 10 years to sort 50% of it out and they're a tourist cash cow.

Shows the scale of the job in hand for what has fundamentally been 20 years of commercial neglect. They absolutely need to improve the upper Holte, amongst other concourses. The North is going to be remedied more dramatically, but Terrace View, Holte Suite being done first wrankles, as our exprience worsens. But they will do it all, because they're not going to leave cash on the table.

I hope your right Ads, as things will be more palatable then. One of the issues at the moment is the lack of communication or from the notes of chap who went to the FAB, the seeming disregard for the experience of the average punter, including taking options away without any care or thought. It comes across rightly or wrongly that they really couldnt give a shite about the majority, which is strange and risky on their part.

[Risso]

Rinsing people because of an uptick in demand is very short term thinking. They could create a permanant increase in turnover by simply improving what's on offer at Villa Park for the majority of fans.

[garyellis]

Rinsing people because of an uptick in demand is very short term thinking. They could create a permanant increase in turnover by simply improving what's on offer at Villa Park for the majority of fans.

I agree with the sentiment but its more than an uptick in demand

[chrisw1]

Rinsing people because of an uptick in demand is very short term thinking. They could create a permanant increase in turnover by simply improving what's on offer at Villa Park for the majority of fans.

They could do both.  Much as I think the Terrace View is in the wrong place, the reality is there's still a decent sized concourse remaining in the upper Holte.  It wouldn't have taken a huge investment to replace / improve the lost facilities and give it a bit of a tidy-up.

[Nev]

It's been launched as "The Lower Grounds" £60 for ST holders and double that to include a match ticket. Mentions unlimited food but not what drinks are included.

[chrisw1]

Aston Villa is pleased to announce the launch of a new matchday offering for supporters.

The Lower Grounds will open its doors to a fan-focused experience, which will include food and drinks as part of the package, for the first time against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, September 30.

Located in the former Holte Suite, the Lower Grounds will be open from three hours before kick-off and up to 90 minutes post-match, supporters will be able to take advantage of all-you-can-eat street food as well as a range of beers, wines and soft drinks* while mingling with former players and watching pre-match build-up, interviews and classic matches on large media screens in a convivial atmosphere.

The package will include seats in the Trinity Road Stand or the Doug Ellis Upper and a matchday programme.

Existing season ticket holders can purchase the package as a bolt-on while they may also be bought on a match-by-match basis. An opening offer for the Brighton game is as follows...

Single match package v Brighton - £120 (including VAT)
Season ticket holder bolt-on v Brighton - £60 (including VAT)

To enquire now please contact the Premium team on 0330 314 1322  or email premium@avfc.co.uk.

 *Alcoholic beverages available from two-and-a-half hours before kick-off and up to one hour post-match.

[chrisw1]

Much as I'm cynical about this, I can imagine tourist fans thinking it's a pretty good deal and a nice easy way to get a one-off match ticket.   

[AlexAlexCropley]

So the "package" doesn't include a seat in the Holte?? Jesus.

[Chico Hamilton III]

It’s not just a bar it’s a “fan-focussed experience”