Time to map out a plan for Villa's future
- Says blogger Matthew Turvey
Hawthorns set for £3m revamp
Thursday 7th February 2008, 2:49PM GMT.
More than 700 seats at The Hawthorns are to go in a £3m refurbishment of the Halfords Lane stand.
Work will start in March on a scheme that will reduce Albion’s ground capacity by 750, but will give the stadium’s oldest stand a completely new look.
The stand, which was rebuilt with the £1.5m transfer fee that Manchester United paid the Baggies for Bryan Robson, will be completely refurbished by the start of next season.
The plans were revealed today by chairman Jeremy Peace, who last year shelved proposals for a complete rebuild.
The refurbishment work will be paid for with a £3m loan which, Mr Peace said, would mean that the club’s transfer budget will not be affected.
Read the full story in the Express & Star. 
More than 700 seats at The Hawthorns are to go in a £3m refurbishment of the Halfords Lane stand.
Work will start in March on a scheme that will reduce Albion’s ground capacity by 750, but will give the stadium’s oldest stand a completely new look.
The stand, which was rebuilt with the £1.5m transfer fee that Manchester United paid the Baggies for Bryan Robson, will be completely refurbished by the start of next season.
The plans were revealed today by chairman Jeremy Peace, who last year shelved proposals for a complete rebuild.
The refurbishment work will be paid for with a £3m loan which, Mr Peace said, would mean that the club’s transfer budget will not be affected.
Peace said: “There were plans for a rebuild, but in the end we decided that a refurbishment rather than a rebuild was the best way forward.
“It will reduce the overall ground capacity by around 750 seats, taking it down to around 27,000.
“But we have found that we normally have a surplus capacity anyway.
“Our average attendance in the Premiership was between 25,000 and 26,000 and it has been around 22,000 in the Championship.
“So, given those parameters, we feel that a capacity of 27,000 is probably the right thing to do.
“If we want to expand at a later date then we would be able to do so, but at the moment we feel it is important to focus on those 27,000 fans and improve their match-day experience.”
The plans include doubling the size of spectator walkways within the Halfords Lane Stand, which will be renamed the West Stand.
The work will involve moving the players’ facilities, including the dressing rooms, from the ground to the first floor and provide new directors’, media and corporate facilities.
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is this only because the albion can not fill their ground, so they make it smaller, so it will look fuller and not as embarrasing??
shame on albion fans, top scorers in the country, playing good football, but you still make the ground the smaller and can knowhere near fill it!!
at least wolves get fans, even though we are playing boring footbal and can not score!!
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Ha Ha,
Futile comment, learn to spell you moron!
Voted worst whinging fans in the country, say no more!
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1.. sooner watch great football myself, beside less people at the ground even quicker to get to the pub after. If it where full I would not have been back at the pub to see Watford score after 54 seconds last saturday so it has its advantages.
now please go back to school you silly silly boy
Regards
Baggie Boy
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All that money from those transfers and they need a 3m loan. where as all the money gone i wonder.
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4 – can’t you read ?? The money is being spent on TRANSFERS – unlike your £30M “investment”.
I’m so jealous of the wolves attracting all their cheering fans – there is no greater site in football that the southbank in full flow – scalves aloft singing the famous wolves song…. all together now
you let us down again,
You let us down again
MM out, MM out
You let us down again – Boo !
Who wants 25000 booing infighting morons shouting insults at the manager / players / directors / programme seller etc etc…
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Its called running a business, so you can entertain the fans. Something not seen down the custard bowl for some time eh? New owner for you is doing a fine job from where we’re all standing!
Boing Boing
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£3M??? Is that all?
Shamefull.
No wonder the Wolves fans call our ground ‘The Poorthorns’
Why cant we have a ground like Molineux? Sick of having a second rate ground, we deserve better.
Knock the lot down for me and rebuild or relocate.
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All that money as you refer to it has gone on building an even stronger side than we had last season – a team that the dingles can only dream about
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4… You obviously know nothing about running a buisness.
Think about it (cant believe I am doing this) Its much easier to get a loan for “bricks and mortor”. Why spend money from the “transfer fund” if a player came up for sale and we had spent for argument sake our last 3 million on a stand development do you think we could toddle of to the bank and ask for 3 million loan for a player.
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It’s simple.
It’s called Continuous Improvement.We are doing it both on and off the pitch.
You cannot afford to stagnate in any business.
Unless of course…. you come from Wolverhampton…….
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its very sad when the ONLY thing wolves fans have to shout about is attendances/fan base. If that’s so important we’d all go and support Man Utd.
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Dear me children, all calm down…!From a family of Wolves & Baggies fans, we all genuinely want both teams to do well and playing in the premiership. Yes, Albion should be getting bigger crowds but its been a long time since the Molineux was filled. Link this to the Blues/Villa/Walsall, there’s a general malaise amongst midlands clubs. Oh for the time of Star Soccer when all clubs were playing and there was general respect amongst fans across the midlands..!
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Loans???
What are they??
Will Always be known as Birminghams 3rd Team.
Up The Villa!
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I urge all baggies not to rise to comments like number 1. if thats all they have got i pity them.
p.s check the article about 10 000 travelling fans in two agmes( ok i have risen to it, what you gonna do)
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put the roof the same leval as the brummie and the ground will look that bit better, new ground will put the club at risk of a massive debt but everyone would like a new ground
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Although a wolves fan i think that sounds like good sense to me. The hawthorns is a great little ground with much better atmosphere than the molyneux (probably because the corners are filled in) and the extra bars and corporate space will increase your revenue. Like to slate the idea but youre so far ahead of us in terms of management and football ability i think i`ll keep my shut.
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9.
To be fair you’d get a loan for a player just as easily, but would find it is at a higher interest rate, so the club are doing it the right way. Do know a few Albion fans who are not happy that more transfer money hasn’t been seen yet though.
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13) i am aware you don’t know what loans are, however do you know what selling your backside out to the yanks means
just wandering
p.s cheers for the 10 mill hop davies works out for you ha ha
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13. Dan Smith
Every day I thank God that I am a Baggie, and not a “fan” of the Yank-owned laughing stock backed by an army of helium-voiced chipmunks.
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THEY WILL BE REPLACING THE 700 SEATS WITH A CATERING BUSINESS.
‘HARTSONS BURGER BAR’ SO HE CAN CARRY ON RIPPING OFF THE FANS!!!!!!!
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we are just jealous of the baggies, ignore us and are stupid fans
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Eric the throstle – strange nickname for a wolves fan but anyway don`t take your bitterness out on your more successful neighbours, try and embrace our success and even better come and watch us play at the poorthorns as you put it, the football is scintilating. Being called eric and supporting wolves probably means you havent had a very nice life but its not too late to change either of those things.
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13 Dan Smith:
Birminghams 3rd Team.
True,so very true!
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to Dan smith, loans are when you borrow things like overrated centre halfs who give a goal away against blackburn and cost 2 points and 2 goals away against fulham and cost 3 points. Trouble is most loaned items are returned but in this case you are not allowed to do this but instead must pay your 3rd rate neighbours £9 MILLION POUND. Hang on have I got that right? can`t have, sounds a bit Irish to me, I`ll just ring martin O`neil to see if I`ve misunderstood the whole thing.
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14 baggie
The endless jibe`s about our respective attendances,
is their ONLY solace, and detracts
from the important issues.
If you were an outsider, with no concept of the clubs and the region,
reading these pages, you could be forgiven for thinking the difference in attendance figures
was tens of thousands.
I thought their SLIGHTLY higher
attendances were down to the clubs
campaign for free booze……
or should that be free boos.
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Good idea to turn the seats round thats now about 4000 seats less to fill maybe you will get a full house now
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no 7
an albion fan who talks some sence at last knock it down
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As for wolves big crowds at the custard bowl at the moment the gap is only 1090 and closing I predict we will close the gap.After doing up the halfords we should fill in the corner between the smethwick and the east ,often when teams have poor away support the have half the smethwick which could easly filled our own fans,they then could be acomidated in the corner.
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I can’t see how the baggies would need a loan with the money you made last season selling some of your ‘superstars’. That’s one thing I think you have done very well at and that is selling top championship players to premiership clubs for ridiculously inflated premiership prices. eg Koumas, Kamara and Curtis. The wolves have improved their bargaining tools since the ‘golden tit’ period of the nineties but I think we still have got ripped off in recent times. Take Lescott for example who was a far higher breed of footballer than your curtis and went for a paltry £5 million. Even Curtis admitted his performances at Villa when he first started out wouldn’t have been out of place in a Sunday league team. Yes you can’t knock the baggies board for excellent bargaining. Tony Mowbray has done a good job for you and you are good good attacking free flowing football with plenty of goals. You appear destined for the premiership but I wouldn’t start popping the champagne corks just yet. As a Wolves fan I know only too well how counting your chickens can leave you with a good helping of egg on your face after you pipped us to second place with just a dozen games too go. This season is much tighter and I can’t see any team breaking away significantly from the pack. It will go down to the wire and I believe we will be there with you!
And a message to all you baggies fans who say we are fickle. Talk about pot calling the kettle black! I work with a couple of baggies fans who gave up their season tickets following relegation under Bryan Robson but who have now jumped back on the baggie bandwagon under Mowbray. They refused to show any loyalty. Totally fickle! I am sure they will be jumping off again if it all ends in tears this season! Some Wolves fans are very fickle but the majority are just passionate about their team and at times their emotions spill over at games. But at least we have got passion!
Happy baggie read a few of your comments and you are such an idiot! I would rather sit next to 25000 ‘morons’ as you call us than sit anywhere near you especially in an old clapped out stand!
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Limited amition. Better to relocate.
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Great news. I hope!
I am always complaining that the worst part of match day is trying to squeeze your way from the turnstile to the seats. Concourse far too narrow and is a disgrace.
Moving the directors back over means Ill be able to get a look at the visiting dignitaries etc. Only problem is, i bet i am one of the few that get moved.
i cant see how we could justify building a new ground because we cant fill the one we’ve got.
If it was relocated closer to Tipton or Wednesbury we’d probably end up picking up some of those whingeing Wolves fans and we can do without them!
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13. another season that ended at the start of January for Azzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzton Villa hey. Oh well only 6 months till your season starts again.
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13. Dan Smith
Birmingham’s 3rd team? Does that mean your the second…Anyway we’ve got more programme sellers than the Vile have players in their squad… Looks like the US “sub prime crisis” has hit Mr Lerners pockets…£1.5m for Routledge??…Hey big spendeeeerrrrss!!!!!………
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wont hear wolves fans next season, when were in the prem and they are still booing MM.. also this time next year we would still have scored more goals than dingles
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Just read that premier sides will be playing on foreign turf.The yanks have already played at wembley so this will catch on. lerner will want his team closer to hone so he could relocate them and change the name to Arizona Villa or Aston Virginia.Shame for the current fans but hey! thats what happens when you do business with the yanks, ask Churchill
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Happy Baggie – I would rather be alongside 25000 ‘morons’ as you so call us than be alongside you – especially in a clapped out stand! What a Wally!
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should look nice on match of the day boing boing
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Of course us morons at the poorthorns should worry about Mr Peace’s business acumen, after all what’s he done. Apart from selling a load of prima donnas at vastly inflated prices and replacing them with gems from the bargain basement. Keep laughing Wolves as we leave you behind. Start worrying Villa, We’re coming after you, after all if the Blues can beat you every time what will we do.
Great to be a BAGGIE.
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the only pleasure wolves fans get these days it to try and wind up albion fans (dont take the bait)
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There’s a lot of talk on here about ‘Good Business’and no doubt it is for your chairman. He’s probably making the ‘LOAN’and at a very juicy INTEREST RATE,some of us know our chairmen and how they make their DOSH, Don’t get ‘sucked in by this one lads.
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On the face of this announcement it looks like 2 steps back however, Peace has not dismissed the requirement to develop the Halfords Lane stand. If and when the albion are in the promised land, then the process to increase the number of seats will be an easier process. The 3m investment is literally cementing the footings so another tier can be built on top. Boing Boing
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How much to fill in the corners between the East stand and the Smethwick and the Brummie road end? That would bring capacity to over 30,000 which we will surely need if and when we ever get to,and be established in, the greed league.
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Small minded club with small minded plans.
Why not groundshare with WALSALL?
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there is no way all the money sandwell have recieved over the last so many seasons is being spent on transfers i thing you need to go back to school for maths.
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all these tescobag fans going on about Wolves fans wingeing but ive heard plenty of them wingeing on the radio and on here even though they are top of the league and the best team in the division but perhaps they have a divine right to winge. they even winge about wolves fans wingeing
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end of the day, you havent bet us this season have you
and last season we finished on same points as you after 46 games
were still in the championship
you, after losing to worst team in premiership history, are still in the championship
as 29. said
dont count your chickens, we will be there end of the season
watch out!
oh and yes we have more fans to clarify :)
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Michael.
44. I’d worry about your own club’s finances before you bother your little head on our behalf.
45. You truly are a connoissiuers Wolves fan, whinging about Albion fans, whinging about Wolves fans when they have nothing to whinge about. Still I suppose that’s a compliment about how good we are. Thanks Michael.
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dont need to worry about wolves finances our finances are fine.
no need for loans to lower are capacity.and i did say that you are currently the best team in the championship, but theres no way i would let that get to me.
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Michael – you say the money we have received isn’t being spent on transfers – well i beg to differ.. we have spent quite a bit of the money on transfers (£12m in the summer – plus signing on fees, agents fees and wages) but we will be spending much more next season when we go up.
Also I would rather we have money in reserve to ensure we don’t do a Leeds – its just good sense, and so I don’t understand your point. We can improve our ground by spending £3Mill but Morgan reckons his £30 Million investment must all go on improving the custard bowl… add that one up !!
Regards the stand itself – a quick “tart up” is fine, we don’t wanna be knocking stands down just as we get promoted, and in all honesty 27,000 capacity is fine for us – with the option to extend in the future as required.
If this policy of putting team finances before club finances is done right we can all look forward to seeing some exciting players come in.
I applaud JP for another canny deal.
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Y r we reducing our seating y not just build a new stand, the stand itself is too old and outdated we need a new stand to keep up with changing times i mean how many teams do u know that have a wall along the fornt row. the stand is gunna need rebuilding sooner or later so y not make it for the sooner. cmon peace spend money 4 the rite things u need 2 take sum risks
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yeah makes sense having a loan when youve got money to cover the cost.
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50 – By knocking down the halford lane stand we would be reducing our capacity – just as we (hopefully) get into the premier league…
This will mean that regular STHs cannot get their tickets, it will mean the club loses the revenue of a full house, and the team will be playing in a reduced atmosphere with no fans on one side of the ground – just when they need our support the most…. and for what ??
By “doing it up” we will still have a full ground every week and the team will benefit (12th man and all that) – plus the money will be put into the team instead, and the ground will still be improved.
Thats Y
p.s wolfies – its gonna cost £3 million to improve our ground – your owner is having to put £30 million into improving yours – wonder why ??
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13. I will tell you what a loan is.We loan you an average player you give us £10million seems a good deal to us baggies
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Good to see that the old hedgerow is to get a trimming.
It must hurt the Tescos to go to away matches at proper grounds and see how the other half live, and then be embarrassed next week at the mocking from rival supporters over the state of the hedgerow.
Mind you, the Golden Palace without a proper team hurts just as bad!
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50 Happy.
Excellent explanation. I would only add that to do anything at all with hte Halfords, we need to lay down the plans now. We, unlike some other clubs are not arrogant enough to take it for granted that we will get promoted. Should we not get promoted we will have a white elephant on our hands. Even if we go up, we still need to see how we do next season, I repeat, you can’t take anything for granted. These are the actions of a club run along practical business lines rather than one always relying on a rich benefactor to bail them out. To all of our fans who say that it lacks ambition, should we be looking at the Leeds/Peter Ridsdale blueprint? Think about it.
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HB Post 52. You ask why? I will tell you why it’s to keep the Golden Palace just that, streets ahead of Trophy Chasers of Sandwell.
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i heard dfs where having a sale two two seaters and a stool should do it,and i bet the two seaters will still be empty so all you need is about two kitchen stools very cosy.
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Havent had chance to read through comments yet. But can imagine the stupid comments wolves fans are saying! Now thats out the way I think the refurb did need to be done but a rebuild would have been the better option, once again peace is pinching his penies! I can see he has best interests and can appreciate it will improve facilities but one thing you (do not do) is reduce capacity of a ground it’s taking a step back! He says he wants to push the club forward and establish it in the top flight, Mowbray is doing that but Peace wont take a gamble and push it in the same way as our manager. A rebuild and increase in capacity would push the club forward but this is not that much of a step forward. Yes, I understand our abverage gates dont reach 27k but we have already have had 2 fixtures in the championship this season which are over what the new capacity will be. Sureley peace feels the vibe and knows we are going places. Mowbray knows what hes doing and has even talked about how he would tackle the premier league and for the first time I have 100% faith in a manager along with most fans. If he does his business in the premiership we would get average gates of around 30,000. Derbies and the man u/arsenal games would be 33,000 which would fill the new stand the club originally planned. We do have the fans. We could’ve took 50k to wembley if they’dve let us! Its not like coventry, ipswich or other clubs that have built grounds they cant fill! We do have the fans, we have the manager, we have the future, we have the football. Peace just needs to fully commit and follow! So for now were stuck with the lop sided ground but if we do establish ourselves under Mowbray in the prem playing attacking football (as peace says he wants) we will need to increase that capacity because were gonna need those fans.
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most definately the right thing to do , you cant fill the ground for most games even when youre in the prem, so it makes sense
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