The Fun Factory Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Interesting Dr Tone has mentioned this- though it is on the day we got the lowest crowd of the season! The problem is that the North Stand is a goal stand so the demand for corporate fancy facilities are lower in this area even if we got promoted. That is what really rakes cash in for any new stands/stadiums. I don't like that but that is the modern world. Liverpool basically said the same that the proposed expansion of the Anfield Road End is hardly worth it if it is just for us pleb football fans. I think Doug missed a trick in the 1990's. He should have left the Trinity as it was and built a wraparound stand for the witton lane and witton end creating a horsehose style stadium with modern facilities but with history as well. But we can't reverse that. On the plus side to Doug at least he made sure Villa owned a lot of land around the stadium for future development. One day it would be great to see a swish new North Stand complete with a swanky club megastore and museum but having seen this being discussed at length by the last 2 previous owners and nothing to happen, I will wait and see to any future developments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted November 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted November 5, 2016 How about this then? The canal is not very far away, they could build an extension to nearby Villa Park and build a canal wharf/Basin around which they could build bars and whatnot. It would certainly make headlines , the first new canal and wharf in 200 years. Didn't they re-create Venice in one of the big developments in China? They could also run water buses back into town to cover some of the additional transport requirements. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villan-scott Posted November 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted November 5, 2016 9 minutes ago, sidcow said: How about this then? The canal is not very far away, they could build an extension to nearby Villa Park and build a canal wharf/Basin around which they could build bars and whatnot. It would certainly make headlines , the first new canal and wharf in 200 years. Didn't they re-create Venice in one of the big developments in China? They could also run water buses back into town to cover some of the additional transport requirements. Doesn't Birmingham have more canal mileage than Venice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted November 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted November 5, 2016 37 minutes ago, villan-scott said: Doesn't Birmingham have more canal mileage than Venice? Really ? I have never heard that said before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villanwesty88 Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 33 minutes ago, sidcow said: How about this then? The canal is not very far away, they could build an extension to nearby Villa Park and build a canal wharf/Basin around which they could build bars and whatnot. It would certainly make headlines , the first new canal and wharf in 200 years. Didn't they re-create Venice in one of the big developments in China? They could also run water buses back into town to cover some of the additional transport requirements. That would be amazing. Could get a boat to Villa Park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TrentVilla Posted November 5, 2016 Moderator Popular Post Share Posted November 5, 2016 22 minutes ago, villan-scott said: Doesn't Birmingham have more canal mileage than Venice? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted November 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted November 5, 2016 50 minutes ago, villanwesty88 said: That would be amazing. Could get a boat to Villa Park! I saw a TV thing recently about a boat which takes people from central Manchester to Old Trafford. You buy a membership and you basically drink on the boat instead of a pub and it drops you off right outside the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodders0223 Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 4 minutes ago, sidcow said: I saw a TV thing recently about a boat which takes people from central Manchester to Old Trafford. You buy a membership and you basically drink on the boat instead of a pub and it drops you off right outside the ground. i think the number 11 bus does this too tbf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted November 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted November 5, 2016 23 minutes ago, rodders0223 said: i think the number 11 bus does this too tbf. I used to get the no 11 from Hall Green to matches what I was a kid. Half the frickin way around the outer circle to get to the game, used to take bloody hours. Don't recall any draught beer mind. Could be tempted to do this now if they served on board now though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugeley Villa Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 I always thought it pointless to redevelop villa park until we are back in the prem pushing 40k again. But I could get the idea of preparing for our return back to the prem by starting work whilst we are in the championship. However long we are in this league for we will return to the prem at some point. Only problem is that when we are struggling we average between 33-36k and that's with reasonably cheap tickets. If we were to get ourselves a good exciting team then with cheap tickets it may be worth having a 50k seater stadium, or with a safe standing section it could rise beyond 50k. Our Fanbase is old school though in terms of big fluctuations in crowds for games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted November 6, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) We keep hearing that corporate is where the money is made and average punters are barely worth building for. In which case why not build a huge stadium and let in fans for free or virtually free. If you have a stadium packed to the rafters with 100,000 every week you are far more likely to "farm" some future corporate buyers than if you only have 30,000 comming to the games. Supermarkets know the value of a loss leader to attract people to the store. Football clubs seem to operate the opposite way and price people away from the store. Edited November 6, 2016 by sidcow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 (edited) 7 hours ago, sidcow said: In which case why not build a huge stadium and let in fans for free or virtually free. If you have a stadium packed to the rafters with 100,000 every week you are far more likely to "farm" some future corporate buyers than if you only have 30,000 coming to the games. Supermarkets know the value of a loss leader to attract people to the store. Football clubs seem to operate the opposite way and price people away from the store. They already do that in the bundesliga. it works pretty well from what I can see. the premier league and English football is just money obsessed and has no forward thinking at all. it's just gouge everyone for as much money as possible, especially your own fans. Edited November 6, 2016 by villa89 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ferguson1 Posted November 6, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted November 6, 2016 Visited the Villa store today for a kit for my lad and the one thing that really hit home for me was that in and around the ground it is quite a dour place. This is something I don't really notice on a match day because there is a buzz around the place. Approaching from the moterway/Star City area is pretty bad and any away supporter must think it's a real dump. Even the Hote pub is starting to look a little tired again. Driving down the side of the Doug Ellis stand is just dull, bland and lacks any visual spectical, even the park opposite looks uninviting and not somewhere that you'd want to sit and stare at the stand because there is just nothing to see. Pulling into the main car park behind the North Stand is again disappointing, with too much dirty grey concrete everywhere. Even the car park is half concrete and half tarmac? The club shop is ok, but a brighter megastore sorely needed. Having had a really good look around the place today I feel some of the suggestions on here are really good ones and yes, perhaps expensive but badly needed. The North Stand is a lost cause and will need a complete rebuild and I like the idea of a megastore/ticket office incorporated underneath. A revised fascade of brickwork on the Trinity would be fantastic. Great idea. The Doug Ellis from the outside needs changing and the only thing I could think of today would be glass panelling so you can see inside the stand and it's corridors, rather than sole less grey panels? The Holte is ok and can be left alone for now, but a revised car park and possible fan zones a very good idea. The Holte pub perhaps needs a lick of paint again. I wonder if there is any way that we can be closer linked to Aston Hall and have a nice walk between the two? Driving away and back towards the moterway, I again wondered if the area could be regenerated in some way? I think someone has already mentioned what Man City have done to their local area and perhaps we could copy this in agreement with the council/local residents. I finally wondered if the Dr would want to tap into Star City someway and make it a little more upmarket, encouraging investment and then have things like a luxury hotel, shops and restaurants etc? A Resort World copycat? All in all Villa Park could be a fantastic place to visit. Someone previously said our Eiffel Tower and they are quite right. If people visit Birmingham, I want them to think that they must see Villa Park. I don't want a soulless silver bowl but character. The mosaic on the Holte is a starting point area for sure and could certainly again be considered around the Trinity and perhaps Doug Ellis stands? I hope it's not a pipe dream, but something that the Dr considers a reality. A fan consultation group is a great starting point to any future vision though. Let's make it happen. UTV. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dont_do_it_doug. Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 There's **** all Tony can realistically do about the train services, unless he wants to spend half of his life lobbying the government. Frankly I'd rather he spent his time making money. However, putting on half a dozen 'football special' coaches back into the city center after the match would be a god send. Perhaps they could leave from Lichfield Road? Dead easy from there with minimal traffic and would reduce congestion across the board. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilS Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 On 06/11/2016 at 10:51, Rugeley Villa said: I always thought it pointless to redevelop villa park until we are back in the prem pushing 40k again. But I could get the idea of preparing for our return back to the prem by starting work whilst we are in the championship. However long we are in this league for we will return to the prem at some point. Only problem is that when we are struggling we average between 33-36k and that's with reasonably cheap tickets. If we were to get ourselves a good exciting team then with cheap tickets it may be worth having a 50k seater stadium, or with a safe standing section it could rise beyond 50k. Our Fanbase is old school though in terms of big fluctuations in crowds for games. I guess a lot of this comes down to the scale of Dr Tony's plans for the ground and surrounding area. If he has big plans, then planning and applications will need to be put in for approval and the bigger the plans the longer these things can take to get through. For instance Spurs ground improvement took many years to get it started, and they had troubles with the neighbours, If we have success, which I am certain Dr Tony is hoping for, then we will attract new fans. So it is best to be ready for them, than finding yourself unable to meet demand. A new ground and surrounding areas, also increases our potential sponsorship revenues which will help us compete with the top teams again and in turn increase fan numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilS Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 A question that has popped into my head, Do we own a lot of the land behind the North Stand? If so, could Dr Tony do what Spurs have done and move the ground slighly in that direction to allow a total rebuild? I'm guessing these are things that might be being considered, and if so that could take a long time to get passed through for approval? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 (edited) A rebuild incorporating old and new can be either amazing or plain awful IMO depending on if it's done "right". It's a shame Chelsea never got to build their Battersea power station Stadium as it would have been cool to see how it would have looked. Edit: Not sure what Pink Floyd would have thought about it thou... Edited November 7, 2016 by sne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fun Factory Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 6 hours ago, NeilS said: A question that has popped into my head, Do we own a lot of the land behind the North Stand? If so, could Dr Tony do what Spurs have done and move the ground slighly in that direction to allow a total rebuild? I'm guessing these are things that might be being considered, and if so that could take a long time to get passed through for approval? Yep we do. Before us it was a Post Office depot and TA army base don't you know. Villa own a lot of land around the ground which in fairness is a legacy of Doug. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilS Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 14 hours ago, The Fun Factory said: Yep we do. Before us it was a Post Office depot and TA army base don't you know. Villa own a lot of land around the ground which in fairness is a legacy of Doug. I thought we owned it, but wasn't sure if it was sold off at some point in recent years. I guess that gives the club some scope to re-position the ground slightly and making it a bigger project if they wish.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRO Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) 23 hours ago, sne said: A rebuild incorporating old and new can be either amazing or plain awful IMO depending on if it's done "right". It's a shame Chelsea never got to build their Battersea power station Stadium as it would have been cool to see how it would have looked. Edit: Not sure what Pink Floyd would have thought about it thou... Ideal launchs for "Ravers" Fireworks Edited November 8, 2016 by TRO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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