When Thing Just Don't Add Up

If you believe everything you heard emanating from the Boardroom you would believe that Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath were about to be improved to the tune of £26 million Brian has around the same amount in the kitty and that all this was going to be paid for from a combination of the flotation windfall, sponsorship deals and TV money. You'd also probably think that I was top of Mr Ellis' Christmas list.

Before taking a closer look at the wonderful plans dreamed up in our great leader's bunker, let us examine the piles of wonga due to enter the bank account. The Reebok deal amounts to £6.5 million over three years. Remember, we are constantly reminded that sponsorships are required to meet running costs, which gate money alone doesn't cover.

The working capital released by the flotation could vary quite considerably, however official estimates have hovered around the £25 million mark. Further, the City has been impressed by claims that this money would be spent on capital projects rather than on team-building. Finally television revenue, we have been told, has gone on squad strengthening. In short, according to the various statements from Villa Park, there is only the cash from the flotation (total unknown) available to spend above the normal budget.

Already it seems that the proposals to turn Villa Park into a super stadium are little more than a pipe dream. Under a microscope they seem more far-fetched.

The one thing which we know is going ahead is the Holte Suite development. The desire to cash in on the conference market has seen work begin on what was originally a £2.7 million scheme. The figure then rose to £4 million; the discrepancy due either to a revision by the Board or a cock-up by the newspapers. Now, we hear, Mr Ellis has okayed a budget of £8.4 million to cover larger plans for the Holte. If this be true, isn't it incredible how easy it is to find huge sums to gamble on corporate interest, but not so simple to fund the much-needed, and potentially Championship-winning, purchase of a striker?

No doubt Doug will correct me if I'm wrong, but that represents £8.4 million of the flotation cash spent, So where's the rest going? Down Trinity Road, for one thing. Here, £3.4 million is due to be splashed out on a cheap roof (goalpost rather than cantilever) raised 24 ft higher than the present one, 250 seats, 36 executive boxes and two staff and lounge areas. When looking at the bare facts of this proposal, one can't help thinking that it represents the most short-sighted, stolid plans ever to be linked with our great club's name.

But back to the point. This is meant to be the first phase of the work to give us a 50,000 capacity. At 250 seats a very small phase, admittedly, but one which means that the float is now down by £11.8M.

Travelling back down towards the Expressway, the once great Holte Hotel is due for a bit of cultural rape. The building, which according to his Dougship at the 1995 AGM was most likely to become a museum, is now going to house Villa Village 11 (or a shop, to those of us who are against pretentious titles). No exact costings for this scheme have been published, so we again take Doug's words as our guide. At that 1995 AGM he said that at least £500,000 would be needed just to make the building fit for redevelopment. So shall we say a straight million for the whole shooting match, guv'nor? The jackpot now stands at £ 1 2.8 million.

Over at Bodymoor Heath, again we are left to guess the cash outlay. The plans include three new pitches, a football academy, and a 40 bed hostel for young players, The latter scheme, of course, used to exist at Villa Park. Frederick Rinder used the Holte Hotel as, shock horror..., a hostel for young players. Let's be ultra-conservative on this one and say another mill', rounding up the total figure (so far) to a cool £ I 3.8m.

'Tis back to Villa Park we go for the crowning glory of the maestro's empire building dreams. First, the outgoings rise to £14.8 million thanks to our two 'state of the art' scoreboards. At last these will happen, but no-one has yet quizzed Doug about how this fits in with his plans for the Witton End. The proposed 15,000 seat wraparound development to the North Stand is knackered by a video screen on one side and the restaurant on the other. That is unless the existing stand is either pulled down and built from scratch, or raised in height by a considerable amount. If it's the latter, why has there been so much talk about raising Trinity Road to the same height as the other (uneven) sides of the stadium? The Witton End will cost, allegedly, £1 1.25m, bringing the grand total to just over £26 million. How much was Brian going to get for players, again?

According to Doug:...... there is a proviso to this (the North Stand project). "I will not put a brick down (He's a builder now!) until I am convinced that the demand from supporters is there. I will gauge that from season ticket sales this year and I also want to see what impact pay-per-view might have" Pay-per-view, eh? It's not even included in the current TV deal although it is obviously the next step. Anyone can tell Doug what the effect will be a reduction in attendances unless prices fall. If that concerns him, don't sign up for PPV. As for his point about season ticket sales, again a reminder of his words at the 1995 AGM is in order. When asked how he tallies his master businessman image with his inability to significantly increase Villa's pool of up front payers, Ellis replied: "Historically, Villa have never sold a large number of season tickets. " Now let's all guess the reason Doug will give for ditching the North Stand plans.

In terms of creating a bit of hype, covering the press with claret and blue stories and getting his face in the papers, Doug's plans are brilliant in the extreme. But the figures don't add up, statements from the club contradict previous official outpourings and it may be a cynical view, but how can anyone believe that the word will be matched by the footballing deeds?

There is one final flaw in Doug's deviously cunning plans, Birmingham City Council. Early editions of the Evening Mail on April 3rd led with the headline "City is fan of new look Villa Park". The planning committee was, apparently, going to give the go-ahead to everything. By the time the Late Night Final hit the streets, the paper had to change its angle when that same city council described Villa Park as a hotchpotch of ugly sheds. Cruel but not entirely unfair. Certainly a damning indictment on Ellisian 'improvements'. The ground which once beautifully complemented Aston Hall and the Parish Church is, in the eyes of many, becoming more and eyesore with each new bit of building work. Maybe, now that the town planners have put their collective foot down, Doug won't have to blame the supporters for their lack of visionary developments down Witton way. And maybe Brian can have the flotation cash after all.

Simon Page