The atmosphere at big open bowls is bad enough but imagine closing an entire top tier.
Having been to some super stadiums in the USA, they have dreadful acoustics for a football chant. A bit like Wembley.
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New Birmingham Stadium - 60k+
- Thread starter danthemanSAFC
- Start date
The atmosphere at big open bowls is bad enough but imagine closing an entire top tier.
Having been to some super stadiums in the USA, they have dreadful acoustics for a football chant. A bit like Wembley.
Football Dinosaur
Striker
Check out their recent piece on sky sports (should be on anytime) their owner outlining their future plans for success outside their building site of a new training complex, which looks very impressive.
Hank Scorpio
Striker
It will depend how they build the stadium really bud. Although I agree about the yank stadiums, you’d imagine a different approach will be taken here.
joop
Striker
How about 20k?
Both clubs have dated stadiums with relatively small capacities. Villa sell out every game - and if their stadium held 60k they would undoubtedly fill it based on results this season, their history of huge crowds and the current boom in football. Birmingham have never won the FA cup or League in their long history. The slightest hint of success and they would draw huge crowds.
Football Dinosaur
Striker
Villa are redeveloping. Have you seen their bar for their version of bcb. It's very impressive.
HitchBerg
Winger
I don't take no notice of attendances these days, but haven't West Ham had 60k gates at their new stadium when at Upton Park it was probably half that or less ?Probably not the best idea with a team that hasn't averaged over 22.5k in a decade and who's highest ever average attendance was 38.5k in 1948
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They had a sizable waiting list before. They did cheap tickets for years when it first opened and developed loyal 60,000 fanbase.
HitchBerg
Winger
Sounds like if Birmingham priced theirs sensibly it would sell out or as near as.?
On what basis do you work out that Villa are middle class? Blues are full of it. A large portion of their support is from Solihull which A) is not in Birmingham and B)is predominately middle class.It's mental really.
Obviously being from Coventry, I have a lot of mates who are Birmingham fans. They are very similar to Millwall in the sense that they like to be seen as a 'proper club'. Very few football shirts in the stands, a working class club, no bowl stadium with a drum etc. Little success but a famous reputation off the pitch.
Villa are different. More middle class and attract fans from many of the towns and villages outside Birmingham and wider area.
What is funny is seeing their reaction to this. Since the takeover they've slowly made changes like adding light displays and fireworks before matches. They are now aiming to build a modern bowl which will very Americanised and with zero atmosphere.
We've seen what can go wrong with projects like this. Darlington and ourselves the two most famous examples. Both completely collapsed after moving to stadiums that at the time were too big for our struggling teams.
Even West Ham. On the pitch things have improved but you ask any of their old school fans and they completely despise the place. They've filled it because they are a big club with basically the whole Essex as a catchment area and being in the middle of one of the world's most visited cities.
At least if things go wrong, they can rent the place out to us when Mike Ashley inevitably falls out with us in 5 years time
Obviously we get more support from out of town being bigger than the other tin pot midlands clubs but I would wager we still have more in Birmingham with or without Solihull and Sutton which is Villa included.
Also what is a “proper club”? You’ve been watching too much David diary and his care in the community day trips.
Villa have been selling out home games since 2019 when they were in the Championship. They even sold the upper away section to home fans against Brentford.
Villa are toying with the idea of extending VP. They have plans approved but suddenly, a few months ago, they announced that the development had been placed on hold. There’s speculation that they’re considering moving which wouldn’t go down well with a large portion of the fan base.
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Hardyman's Yugo
Striker
A city of over a million people and a wider region of over 4 million, why not? Aside from the occasional cup run Birmingham have always been a bit shit. If the owners have ambitions for the club good luck to them
tynevalleyblackcat
Striker
MK Dons have the space for the upper tier but have never used it. Its a decent stadium with a decent atmosphere when I have been despite that.
Qwerty
Striker
Stadium costs don't count iirc
We struggled to fill 22,000 RP in the seasons before the SoL. New stadium brings new or lapsed support.
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Frasmotic
Winger
Contract till Jun 26 acc to Transfermarkt
No, because the potential fan isn't there unless Birmingham are serious top half PL contenders.
West Ham have an even bigger catchment area than Birmingham.
You only have to go to a Villa game to see the stark differences.
Keen to say how all the other Midlands clubs are tinpot but Villa haven't won anything in donkeys years. Massively under achieving.
It's not me who calls them a proper club, it's their own fans. They are desperate to tell each other that.
The atmosphere from a home perspective is dreadful at MK. Partly because of the top tier being shut. Open air stadiums are always worse than those with a low roof.
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