Sunday, October 13, 2024

Inside Aston Villa’s £400m upgrade to be Champions League ready and crash ‘big six’

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“The first year we were successful,” he says. “We generated £50 million more and that’s our plan to generate £50 million more each year. That has never been done before and we are doing it. We are already well on our way. We were [on] £219 million [annual turnover] so what is the magic number to get to? We think it’s £400 million to get into the game of sustainability. We have a path to get there.

“We just came back from the league meetings. We know what we are up against and we almost feel that we have to do this on our own. Because these rules are not set up to reward an ambitious club. Or a challenger. It [changing the three-year permitted losses under PSR to a top limit of £135 million] didn’t go through. I don’t want to keep worrying about it.

“When something doesn’t evolve in 11 years and with the cost of living alone, you scratch your head. If the Bank of England says inflation of £105 million through an 11-year period [then £105 million] is now at £143 million. You would think we would follow that same logic but the league has decided not to. I don’t want to waste my time griping about it. I want to find a new path and I think that is where Aston Villa enters into that big club realm. We have to just get there. So how do you get there within the rules? Well, you try to work harder, and get smarter and be better at what you do.”

‘Not just one type of English football fan’

Heck came from a 33-year US sports marketing career in the NBA and Major League Soccer. He undoubtedly has a restless energy to push ahead. There is a new kit deal with Adidas – the first with the German giant, in which Sawiris is a significant shareholder, in the club’s history – and a front of shirt sponsor with the online gambling group, Betano.

The work at Villa Park will include transforming police holding cells in the North Stand, built to accommodate unruly fans, into a new suite. “The Cells” will be one of the 18 newly themed offerings encompassing 5,000 hospitality tickets across different price levels. There is a new superstore and “The Warehouse”, an adjoining matchday food and drink space which will eventually also become a 4,000-capacity concert venue.

For the US sports executive, British stadiums can be something of a step back in time although Heck is polite about that. He looked at Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham’s Riverside Stand as he sought to shape what Villa might do. “Premium meant [at Villa Park] you got a suite, 12 tickets and a rectangular table for a sit down like a family meal,” he says. “It’s wonderful and everyone enjoys themselves but that was the only option. My thought is ‘let’s give people more options and I bet you they are going to be interested’. There is not just one type of English football fan.”

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