Chris Heck - President of Business Operations

[Chip Butty 111]

Sorry Chip Butty, I meant as far as the owners are concerned, he will spin that he is maxing profit across the CL games.
It looks awful but he does not care about optics.

No worries we were looking at different angles. Although I moan about GA+ I don't think it's a bad idea in general. I just think we've gone about it in a bad way, the seats are mostly in the wrong areas and it's overpriced. The most disappointing thing is the leftover empty seats now we are flying on the pitch. It'll be interesting to see if Juventus turns out to be more like Bayern or Bologna for sales.

[Lucky Eddie]

Where do you think GA+ tickets should be located?

[pauliewalnuts]

Sorry Chip Butty, I meant as far as the owners are concerned, he will spin that he is maxing profit across the CL games.
It looks awful but he does not care about optics.

No worries we were looking at different angles. Although I moan about GA+ I don't think it's a bad idea in general. I just think we've gone about it in a bad way, the seats are mostly in the wrong areas and it's overpriced. The most disappointing thing is the leftover empty seats now we are flying on the pitch. It'll be interesting to see if Juventus turns out to be more like Bayern or Bologna for sales.

Bologna is largely sold out.

I get your general point, but it's not like we're going to be playing in front of thousands of empty seats.

[jon collett]

Saw a weird quote from Heck today where he essentially implied English people are obsessed with football because there aren’t other sports here. He compounded this by saying it’s a family thing.

I think we probably play and watch more sports than most countries but I thought the interesting insight is he clearly sees us as a captive audience!

[kippaxvilla2]

He’s right.

[pauliewalnuts]

Saw a weird quote from Heck today where he essentially implied English people are obsessed with football because there aren’t other sports here. He compounded this by saying it’s a family thing.

I think we probably play and watch more sports than most countries but I thought the interesting insight is he clearly sees us as a captive audience!

He is right though.

There's football and what comes after?

Rugby Union - a shit sport loved by a few hundred thousand Barbour jacket wearing racists.
Cricket - a sport which doesn't have any form of recognisable season or championship
Rugby League - like Rugby Union except for people from weird northern places the rest of us would rather not think of.
F1 - all a bit Alan Partridge, and fundamentally, not even a sport.

In the US they have way, way less of a gap between the top sport and the rest.

They even have nonsense like college 'football'.

[jon collett]

Saw a weird quote from Heck today where he essentially implied English people are obsessed with football because there aren’t other sports here. He compounded this by saying it’s a family thing.

I think we probably play and watch more sports than most countries but I thought the interesting insight is he clearly sees us as a captive audience!

He is right though.

There's football and what comes after?

Rugby Union - a shit sport loved by a few hundred thousand Barbour jacket wearing racists.
Cricket - a sport which doesn't have any form of recognisable season or championship
Rugby League - like Rugby Union except for people from weird northern places the rest of us would rather not think of.
F1 - all a bit Alan Partridge, and fundamentally, not even a sport.

In the US they have way, way less of a gap between the top sport and the rest.

They even have nonsense like college 'football'.

That’s almost all pejorative nonsense but as I said I think the more interesting insight is him seeing Villa supporters as a captive audience!

[pauliewalnuts]

Saw a weird quote from Heck today where he essentially implied English people are obsessed with football because there aren’t other sports here. He compounded this by saying it’s a family thing.

I think we probably play and watch more sports than most countries but I thought the interesting insight is he clearly sees us as a captive audience!

He is right though.

There's football and what comes after?

Rugby Union - a shit sport loved by a few hundred thousand Barbour jacket wearing racists.
Cricket - a sport which doesn't have any form of recognisable season or championship
Rugby League - like Rugby Union except for people from weird northern places the rest of us would rather not think of.
F1 - all a bit Alan Partridge, and fundamentally, not even a sport.

In the US they have way, way less of a gap between the top sport and the rest.

They even have nonsense like college 'football'.

That’s almost all pejorative nonsense but as I said I think the more interesting insight is him seeing Villa supporters as a captive audience!

Yes but it’s his argument that it’s football and then a massive gap in this country, and he’s right isn’t he?

Certainly compared to the US.

There really aren’t many other top level sports competing for attention and people do not switch club.

If you’re a sports fan in Philadelphia you might follow the Eagles, the 76ers, whatever their ice hockey team is called plus the local college teams. All serious competitors for sports attending money.

How many Villa fans do you think say “I can either spend my money on going to Villa Park or go to
edgbaston and shiver with the other 500 people watching county cricket”?

He’s absolutely spot on

[Lucky Eddie]

Nonsense

[Ads]

I like and watch all those sports Paulie mentions. The only one that I'd ever consider ditching the Villa for, would be the the 4th and 5th Ashes Tests down under.

There is nothing remotely close to the popularity of football in the city of Birmingham. Heck is right.

[Risso]

It's hardly nonsense. In 2022 professional football had 50m spectators. The next biggest, rugby, had 5m, so it's a difference by a factor of 10. I don't imagine the attendances for rugby with helmets, netball for lanky blokes, rounders for men with fat arses etc in the US is anything like as different.

[Chico Hamilton III]

Heck’s obviously never tried getting tickets for next year’s Premier League darts! I managed to get the last pair for the play offs/final at the millennium dome next May, only a hour after they went on sale. And the tickets for India’s tour next season are only just more expensive than a home Champs’ League ticket at Villa Park. But yeah, he’s right, they’re side shows compared to football.

[Somniloquism]

It's hardly nonsense. In 2022 professional football had 50m spectators. The next biggest, rugby, had 5m, so it's a difference by a factor of 10. I don't imagine the attendances for rugby with helmets, netball for lanky blokes, rounders for men with fat arses etc in the US is anything like as different.

Well on the question of sports popularities.....

https://www.statista.com/statistics/630708/share-sports-fans-among-esports-fans-us/

10% difference between NFL and NBA/Baseball. Obviously the same people might have responded they like all three, or some might have stated they like one more then the other (I suspect depending if there is a franchise of one of the teams near the location of the respondent.).

Similar question in the UK

https://www.statista.com/chart/28160/most-followed-sports-in-the-uk/

[Sexual Ealing]

Saw a weird quote from Heck today where he essentially implied English people are obsessed with football because there aren’t other sports here. He compounded this by saying it’s a family thing.

I think we probably play and watch more sports than most countries but I thought the interesting insight is he clearly sees us as a captive audience!

He is right though.

There's football and what comes after?

Rugby Union - a shit sport loved by a few hundred thousand Barbour jacket wearing racists.
Cricket - a sport which doesn't have any form of recognisable season or championship
Rugby League - like Rugby Union except for people from weird northern places the rest of us would rather not think of.
F1 - all a bit Alan Partridge, and fundamentally, not even a sport.

In the US they have way, way less of a gap between the top sport and the rest.

They even have nonsense like college 'football'.

I endorse all the descriptions of these soon-to-be-banned sports.

[Risso]

It's hardly nonsense. In 2022 professional football had 50m spectators. The next biggest, rugby, had 5m, so it's a difference by a factor of 10. I don't imagine the attendances for rugby with helmets, netball for lanky blokes, rounders for men with fat arses etc in the US is anything like as different.

Well on the question of sports popularities.....

https://www.statista.com/statistics/630708/share-sports-fans-among-esports-fans-us/

10% difference between NFL and NBA/Baseball. Obviously the same people might have responded they like all three, or some might have stated they like one more then the other (I suspect depending if there is a franchise of one of the teams near the location of the respondent.).

Similar question in the UK

https://www.statista.com/chart/28160/most-followed-sports-in-the-uk/

There's following though, and there's paying good money to go and watch. I "follow" athletics, but I've never spent as much as a brass farthing to go and watch it. Likewise I like the England cricket test team, but have rarely spent any money on it.

How on earth the cricket counties stay in business, having the county championship matches played midweek in front of 6 people and a dog is beyond me.