End of 2023/24 Season Villa FAB Notes Catch-up

With the latest FAB meeting notes are due out this week, here we look back at the previous meeting’s note from the May 2024 meeting, as a reminder to what was said at the end of last season.

VILLA FAB AGENDA 22ND MAY 2024

Aston villa lion design


Fan Advisory Board (FAB)   22nd May 2024   Villa Park 

FAB representatives                       

Joanne McKibbens               Aston Villa Disabled Supporters Association 

John Gillett                             Lions Clubs 

Lena Curran                           Fan Representative 

Gurpal Sandhu                      Punjabi Villans

Connor Smith                         Fan Representative

Karl Bowater                          Aston Villa Supporters Trust

Sarah Breslin                         Villa Bellas 

David Michael                        My Old Man Said 

Dave Woodhall                      Heroes & Villans

Scott Jones                           Villa Talk

Apologies

Julian Bristow                        Independent Supporters Clubs

Club representatives
          

Ben Hatton                          Chief Operating Officer 

Chris Hornbuckle                  Vice President, Business Development & Fan Engagement

Lee Preece                           Supporter Liaison Manager 

Agenda items and comments provided by FAB Representatives are shown in normal text. 

The FAB wished to place the following statement on record:

On behalf of the Villa fanbase we would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to Unai Emery and his staff for their efforts this season. Getting the club into the Champions League is a fabulous achievement and thank you also for allowing us to dream again.

A further acknowledgement and thanks to club owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris, for being true to their word. 

Upon meeting with the Villa Fan Advisory Board in 2018, when they bought the club, they were asked why they chose Aston Villa over a MLS venture they had been attached to at the time – the first two words they answered in response were “Champions League”.

1.Communication

2. Club communications

There are concerns over the consistency of the club’s communication to supporters. 

Announcement of Aston Villa Football Club deals, achievements etc on personal social media accounts are inappropriate and unprofessional and should be shared principally on Aston Villa channels first.

For example, the season ticket price increase was dropped in mid-conversation in a staged PR video, as opposed to a formal club release, that this group has to respect the embargo of.

3. Avoidance of consultation on heritage assets

Heritage assets are the most important factor when it comes to supporter consultation, as highlighted in the government’s fan-led review. The right to such supporter consultation has been entrenched in FA Rules, the Premier League’s Fan Engagement Standard, and the club’s own fan engagement plan related to this FAB for the 2023/24 season.

Yet, despite repeated requests for these basic rights of consultation to be upheld on the latest badge change – that marked a move away from a badge that had recently received a supporter mandate through a consultation process – they were refused.

Why was this?

Given the feedback, would the club reconsider its approach to consultation on Heritage assets in the future?

4. Villa Park

Please could provide clarity on the timeline of works on Villa Park and expected capacity for the start of next season.

Will the Warehouse project be open for the start of the 2024/25 season?

Supporters would appreciate clarity on the 900-seat displacement, which has caused some panic.  Some supporters have suggested it would have been good to know their situation before the last game of the season, so they could say goodbye or inform their immediate ‘Villa family’, who they’ve sat next to for several years.

5. Ticketing

While a 5% season ticket increase has finally been announced, will there be any further category or zone shifts?

Can the club clarify the locations of the blocks where season ticket holders will be asked to move this summer in order to put those season ticket holders who aren’t moving at ease?

Will single match day ticket pricing match the 5% raise in season ticket prices? 

Are the club able to provide the traditional ‘grid’ of season ticket prices, ideally for all supporters, or if not, to the group?

In terms of the physical season card, the FAB is concerned about a proposed charge for hard copy cards. Considering some supporters like the elderly would struggle with phone season tickets and the fact there’s been issues with scanning some phones, it’s not really on for supporters to have a price increase and then expect to pay a fee on top of that.

We propose an opt-in type box to receive a card at no extra charge, with small-print detailing environmental benefits to encourage not having a physical card.

What is the current number of season ticket holders, compared to two seasons ago?

6. Champions League Pricing

The new format lends itself well to the Categorisation of tickets used in the Premier League. Will the Pot numbering reflect ticket prices and categorisation of tickets in any way?  We would hope that a high-profile Champions League game (Barcelona, Real Madrid etc) wouldn’t be more expensive than a Cat A Premier League game.

Will there be any ‘bundle’ benefits as seen in the Conference League. This was widely appreciated by the fanbase.

Are the club exploring different options for the membership structure, particularly as it will become increasingly difficult to obtain non-hospitality tickets, which is one of the main selling points of memberships?

7. FFP / PSR – Champions League Squad Improvement

With the increase in related revenue from improved performances in the 2023/24 and with a projected increase from CL football, are there any FFP or PSR concerns in the short-term? Should we measure expectations?

It was noted that Villa decided to vote against the new rule structure along with the Manchester clubs, please can you provide clarity behind why this was? 

8. VAR

Wolves have recently tabled a vote for VAR to be scrapped at the next Premier League meeting. While this shouldn’t necessarily be a binary issue, it has impacted on match-going supporters’ enjoyment of football and has improved over subsequent seasons.

What is the club’s feeling on the issue?

9. Aston Villa Women

After much progress from the previous season, there has been a drop off from last season in terms of momentum and the team also needs a new manager.

What’s the outlook in terms of investment compared to the previous summer?  What are the short-term aims and the bigger picture for the women’s team?

Does investment in the Women’s team impact FFP / PSR?

10 AOB questions

1. Will Villa Park be a host stadium of Euro 2028? It was our understanding that the capacity and travel upgrades were a vital factor of this.

2. We have consulted with the West Midlands Police football unit and have been told that Aston Villa fans have been great on their travels in Europe this season. 

We’d like to pass on our thanks to the club’s ticketing department for organising some first-rate ticket pick-up venues, especially in Amsterdam and Lille.

It would be good to have a quick summation from the club on their experiences of Villa’s away games in Europe.

3. Aston Villa Women had a season closer at Villa Park, yet the club shop was already closed for a refit after the men’s Liverpool game and stadium seats had started to be ripped out – which arguably wasn’t a good look for players and fans. The thought processes behind those decisions would be good to hear.

4. Birmingham Senior Cup…the concourse situation seemed to exemplify what has become a legacy issue for the group. Only one kiosk was opened on two fronts, and the queues were quickly frankly ridiculous – both a hundred long and snaking around the concourse.

It’s disrespectful on what should be a pleasant evening supporting the U-21’s in one of the West Midland’s longest traditions.

Is it true that players were only given two complimentary tickets (on the Racing Club Warwick side, at least). Why not increase that number’s attendance and open more kiosks? 

5. Can the club summarise their thoughts on the atmosphere in the final two home games, specifically with the displays in mind. Is this something they would look to be continue regularly?

6. Are there any thoughts of an extension to the current fan zone area pre-game (particularly with the coach introductions, which is seemingly a huge success). If so, where?

When will these plans be shared with the fanbase?

7. What is the club doing about the general state of the facilities in washrooms around the ground – who is responsible for this on matchdays and are they sufficiently staffed and empowered – for our last home game there were flooded urinals in both the Upper and Lower Holte from some time before kick-off. Also, the disabled toilets have been in poor condition.

8. Attendances – why has the club stopped announcing them? Why is the figure in the programme different to the figure provided to the Premier league and published on their website? After years of being simple, what’s changed that’s made this suddenly so secretive?

9. Access and egress – supporters are reporting safety concerns over access and egress, in particular around the use of the smaller staircase in the Holte car park pre-game as a result of the Holte End fan area, congestion at the exit of the Holte End car park to the Trinity Road post-match and at the exit of the North Stand where the stairway has been closed off post-match causing bottlenecks on the ramp.

How can the group and supporters work with the club to help solve resolve problem around these pinch points?

10. What is the club’s thinking as to the Lions Club network going forward, as they have no home at VP anymore and with all the GA+ add ons the chance of a home is looking unlikely.

11. For each match, there are many seats that become available only a couple of days before the match.  Are these GA+ seats that are unsold?

Follow MOMS on Twitter/X & Facebook & Threads