the Villa 400
Went down to Villa Park this morning for a briefing over the new season ticket prices.
Price rises across the board of around seven per cent, or about £4 on a matchday.
Nicola Keye- the club's ticket manager- all very friendly but seemed as jumpy as a box of frogs. Desperate for the handful of press around the table to report the news positively.
Tom Ross was there too. Smiling through the pain of it all. (In case you didn't know, when he reports on Villa his allegiances are generally split: supporting the opposition or supporting the referee).
Only kidding Tom.
Anyway, to be fair to the club their prices over the last few years have been terrific and a jump of this scale is probably spot on.
£200 for a season ticket last year was incredible. That's now £265 (in the Lower North Stand)- a load less than other clubs might charge not too far from these pastures.
But I'd love to know who the unlucky 400 punters are in the Trinity Road Stand who have received a letter from the club asking them to move away from the best seats in the house to allow more room for the "prawn sandwich brigade".
Yes, you've got it. The club need more room for their corporate guests.
The problem of course is that with a capacity of 42,640, minus 3,000 to away fans and a few thousand that needs to be set aside for match tickets, Villa Park is running close to full occupancy.
750 people, we were told, are already on a waiting list.
Michael Cunnah, as Chief Executive in all but name, has been holding a detailed study of Villa Park over the last few months.
He has been central to this new pricing structure and the need to open up the best areas to the one-off punters who will look more at home at Aintree or Ascot, and even if they know about football might even be cheering on the oppposition with a muffled clap or two under a Motson-style sheepskin.
Another season of 40,000 plus average gates and you can expect an announcement over the future of the North Stand.
By the way, anyone wonder where the signage has gone over the Doug Ellis Stand.
I was told a year ago that it was being taken down for cleaning. Must have been blummin' mucky.
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Bill Howell
Mail man Bill Howell’s view of what’s going on at Aston Villa FC.
Not at all happy with the price increase with the season tickets, I have a 16 year old who will now have to pay 450 pounds this season to sit in the Doug Eliis upper, last season it was only 150,but the club have done away with the 16-18 category & he is now classed as an adult, how can they get away with this? Also my 10 year olds has gone up by 70 pounds. Can the club explain how this is of benefit to the fans of the future? as we as parents who are also season ticket holders can not afford this increase this year, but the club when asked said that they are moving forward, but do they want to move forward with genuine fans or the "the prawn sandwich brigade"
Can you explain why you're reporting this increase as 7% across the board? It appears to me as though it is approx. 20% and that 7% is the lowest increase anywhere in the ground.