Latest news with #NorthStand
Arab News
4 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
‘We're going in there to win it': Manchester City chairman targets FIFA Club World Cup success
ABU DHABI: Manchester City's chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, has provided his annual review of the season to the club's official online channel. In part 2 of the interview he reveals the team's desire to retain the FIFA Club world Cup taking place in June and discusses the developments taking place across City Football Group. Here are some of the highlights. On the FIFA Club World Cup… 'Well, as the defending champions coming into this new format, of course, we're very excited. We're very excited to come in as champions. The format actually, I really like it. 'This is a very, very serious competition. I think, in the summer, the whole world will be watching this with a big number of the top teams in the world will be competing in this tournament. 'I can assure you we're going to give it our best shot. We're going in there to win it. This is the beginning of the new season, not the continuation of last season. 'The team will take the rest that they will take right now, and then they start pre-season and then immediately straight into the Club World Cup.' On Manchester City's North Stand redevelopment… 'It's coming up very fast. It's going to be a great addition to the campus. Once we start the new season, everybody will start physically seeing it a lot clearer. 'The hotel is also coming up nicely. It's moving very, very fast, but we're happy with the contractors on the ground. This is going to be a game changer. You will see over these next 12 to 18 months. This is going to be a game changer for the campus and for the club.' On NYCFC… 'Well, more than the foundation, the work is fully now in full effect. Construction is happening at a fast pace. This is going to be an incredible stadium. We're very excited about what we're doing in New York, what we're doing for that community in terms of a proper football stadium, with a team that now is closing in on 10 years. 'It's been a great journey. And they've earned (it). They deserve a stadium, and finally, they're going to get it. And we have now a line of sight of when it's going to be finished and it'll be transformative for football fans in New York, for our fan base, and really at a time where football is booming in America.' On City Football Group… 'It's developed very well. We look at City Football Group as a group, but then each team individually and each team gets the attention it requires and gets a lot of attention from the whole leadership team. 'There's individuality with each club. Depending on where they are around the world, each one has its own requirements. But overall, one of the things that gives us confidence is how many similar models now are following our CFG model. 'There are a lot of other groups now that are pursuing what we have built at City Football Group, which tells you there's an appreciation that this is a good model and it's a model that's effective.'
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sold to build the North Bank roof - the transfer that destroyed an Aston Villa dream
Summoned to the Bodymoor Heath manager's office by the boss, the boyhood Aston Villa fan didn't quite know what to expect. Still on the crest of a claret and blue wave from actually being around the first team scene, the lad who grew up in the shadows of Villa Park certainly didn't bank on being banished thousands of miles away from Witton. As the purpose of the meeting became clear, Steve Hunt struggled to contain his disappointment that Aston Villa no longer wanted him and his dismay that the New York Cosmos did. But the self-confessed hothead didn't hit the roof, he paid for it instead. READ MORE: Aston Villa 'open talks' for 109-goal forward available on free transfer READ MORE: Unai Emery lifts lid on 'face to face' meeting after Champions League heartbreak "This is the honest truth, this is what Ron Saunders told me," explains Hunt with a wry smile during his appearance on BirminghamLive's Claret & Blue podcast. "He said we're building a stand at the Witton End and we're going to use the money from selling you to put the roof on it. That was nice wasn't it? So if you look at the North Stand now, where it's got AV written into the seats, it should be SH! It's a wonder he didn't ask me to build it as well." As he makes clear in his autobiography 'I'm With The Cosmos: The Story of Steve Hunt' he was - and is - claret and blue through and through. Dreaming of playing for the Villa as he honed his skills with his uncles Dave and Den outside the family home in Brantley Road, a quarter of a mile from the Witton End, he signed schoolboy forms with his beloved club at the age of 11. Seven years later, as a teenage winger, he was gracing the Villa Park pitch, waving to his season-ticket-holding nan who would cheer the team on from the same open terrace his Transatlantic transfer fee would soon help to revamp. Hunt's own Villa ceiling came much earlier than he could have ever imagined. Days after signing his first professional contract, Hunt tore the cartilage in his knee during a reserve game and needed an operation, but he refused to let it stall his progress for long. Starting out as a striker, Hunt had converted to a left winger by the time he made his first team debut as a substitute in the 4-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday, which sealed Villa's promotion from Division Two to the top flight in April 1975. "I made all the difference!" jokes Hunt about his brief cameo from the bench at Hillsborough that evening. "It was the night we clinched promotion. I was on the bench and itching to get on. The lads were terrific that night and fortunately I got on for the last 15 minutes. "My great memory of it was that I had so many friends and family at the game. The Villa end behind the goal was absolutely manic, absolutely rammed. "One of my mates ran on after the final whistle and tore my shirt off my back. Ron Saunders wasn't happy, put it that way, and said I was going to have to pay for it." Saunders made sure the 18-year-old had a jersey on his back days later, however, handing him his first start for a 2-0 victory over Sunderland as a crowd of 57,266 packed inside Villa Park to salute their promotion heroes. "Fifty seven thousand? That was just in the Holte End!" smiles Hunt, who savoured the party atmosphere and the respectful guard of honour afforded Villa by their visitors. "It's what I'd dreamed about all my childhood to represent Villa and run out at Villa Park for the first team and when it happens you've got to take it all in. "My family and friends are Villa mad, they just traveled anywhere they could to see me and the club. It was ups and downs. I was in and out the team, but it was just fantastic to be a part of it. They were great days and I remember them fondly." The presence of Chico Hamilton and, occasionally, Frank Carrodus on the left wing limited Hunt's chances and he had made just nine first team appearances by the time he attended that life-changing meeting with Saunders. "I played in the quarter-final of the League Cup against Millwall, the year that Villa won it in 1977," he recalls. "I was told by the manager I'd played well and my contribution was good so I was on a high. "Then shortly afterwards, I got a call to go to his office at Bodymoor Heath and he says 'There's a guy in the canteen from New York and I've agreed a fee for you to go and leave the Villa and go and play for New York Cosmos'. "I just remember going silent and thinking what has he just said, is he making this up? Because I didn't even know they were playing football in New York. "I was shocked because they were willing to let me go and also because it's New York. It's not like going up the M6 is it? It was a complete shock, it really was." The man in the canteen was Joe Mallett, New York Cosmos' assistant coach, and his sales pitch of namechecking a certain Edson Arantes do Nascimento certainly did the trick. "My eyes opened a little bit," grins Hunt. "Especially when he told me your team-mates in New York aren't bad players and one of them is Pele! I stopped and checked: 'Did you really say Pele?' 'Yeah, he's playing with us'. So that kind of swayed it." Before he knew it, while his reserve team pals were preparing for Preston North End away, the Brummie wideman was jetting off to Bermuda for pre-season training, Cosmos-style. "I called my then wife and said do you fancy going across the pond to New York? She was good as gold. We'd only been married a month, just bought our first house and then this happens. She said 'Yeah, no problem'. Calling it a whirlwind would be an understatement!" It was a challenge for Hunt on two levels. Originally shacked up in a hotel he was then moved out to the sticks on the outskirts of New York, having to cadge a lift to training and matches from team-mates, while self doubts over whether he was worthy of rubbing shoulders with such luminaries haunted him initially. "I thought am I really good enough to go and play in a team with Pele in it?" he confesses. "But I realised they're human like everybody else, and Pele is a superb guy. That was the biggest challenge. I did have that fear. Am I good enough? You know, I'd played a handful of games in the first team at Villa. I was 20 years old, not really proven. "Can I hold my own with this kind of company? I persevered. It was hard graft, and I watched them, I learned from them. These great players were all accommodating and would help. I just went from strength to strength and instead of being in awe of them, I felt part of them and we got better and better." Charlie Aitken, his nan's favourite player at Villa, played a part in the move and in making Hunt feel at home at the Cosmos, who played at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey. Soon Brazil legend Carlos Alberto and German icon Franz Beckenbauer were added to the star-studded squad. It was World Cup winners, galore! Hunt loved playing with those revered names of the game but rarely got swept up in the 'Harlem Globetrotters vibe' that followed the team and preferred to knock about with a clutch of British players and the American guys of his age. A sign of his rising self belief came when he was embroiled in an on-pitch spat with Pele, swore at the South American superstar and was promptly substituted for committing the cardinal Cosmos sin. "I had a shot on goal and it was decent for me!" he chuckles. "Pele didn't think so! It clipped the bar and went over and he wasn't happy because he thought I should've passed to him. I put my fingers in my ears and told him where to go and after all of 10 to 30 seconds I was on the bench, they substituted me straight away because you can't do that to the great man. "In my defence, I was 20 years old and bit of a hothead and if somebody had a go at me I'd have a go back whether it be Pele or anybody else. But he sat me down and I apologised. I knew I was wrong. It was forgotten and we got on really well after that, and forged a good partnership on the pitch." On the front of Hunt's book, Pele is quoted as saying: "I like playing with Steve as he plays the same style as I do." In fact Hunt even outshone Pele in the great man's final competitive game, getting a goal, an assist and the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award as Cosmos beat Seattle Sounders 2-1 in the Soccer Bowl play-off final at Civic Stadium in Portland, Oregon, in August 1977 to clinch the North American Soccer League title. "It was one of those days when you feel good and like you can achieve anything," remembers Hunt. "To do it in Pele's last game was very special." Even in that moment, he could get no satisfaction compared to the thrill of meeting his rock 'n' roll hero Mick Jagger. Cosmos were owned by Warner Brothers, Atlantic Records were part of the group and music impressario Ahmet Ertegun knew Hunt was a Rolling Stones obsessive. "I was in the changing rooms just after a game had just finished and I heard this voice say 'Where's the English guy?' I turned around and it's Mr Jagger," Hunt beams. "I was actually quoted as saying 'Some people thought winning the Soccer Bowl was my ultimate thrill, it wasn't, it was meeting Mick Jagger'. I actually meant that as well. I was a big Stones fan. He was fantastic. But he just wanted to talk about football all the time and I just wanted to talk about music!" Hunt didn't play on the superstar privileges too often but he did use his Cosmos status to blag his way into the legendary Studio 54 club, a notorious Boadway haunt for the rich and famous. "I thought I've got to go and see this place, see what it's like," he says. "Let's just say it was an eye opener. The name of the book that I've written is 'I'm With The Cosmos' because those are the words you used to get into Studio 54. "You'd just skip the queue, go to the front and say 'I'm with the Cosmos' and in you go, it's quite embarrassing really. I know some of the lads would use that phrase at restaurants and various places and they'd get a table, no worries." Did it work back in Brum down Broad Street, though? "I tried 'I'm with the Villa' but nothing happened!" he laughs. By 1986 he was back with the Villa, via spells at Coventry City, West Bromwich Albion and the England team, where he won two caps. He covers off those parts of his career in detail in 'I'm With The Cosmos' but on Claret & Blue we obviously kept the chat to his time in B6, including that difficult return. After bursting onto the scene at a club on the up in the mid-1970s, it was a different story when he re-joined a club stuck in a post-European Cup rut in the mid-1980s, although there was some symmetry, as Villa won promotion to the top division in both his first and final seasons. "A bit of a dip?!" Hunt repeats part of our delicately-phrased question back at us, sardonically, as he recounts the shambles he came back to after almost a decade away. By then Villa were a pale imitation of the European Cup winners of just four years previously and despite helping Graham Turner keep them up at the end of 1985-86, Hunt had no such luck the following season. He played in the infamous 6-0 battering at Nottingham Forest which ended up costing Turner his job and had sympathy for the former Shrewsbury Town boss over the chaotic way his tenure unravelled. "I thought it was a knee jerk reaction, getting rid of Graham Turner," he admits. "If they'd given him longer - who knows? - we may have done better. When he left he did a good job at Wolves. It was labelled at him that he'd come from a smaller club to a much bigger club. But the place was in turmoil, it needed shaking up and I don't think he had long enough. He kept us up in 1985-86 but the following season was a complete shambles. "They released him after that Forest match. The players have got to take responsibility for results like that, not just the manager. We needed a real good rollicking, we needed pointing in the right direction, real leadership and we didn't get it. We were left to our own devices and, put it simply, we weren't good enough. You look at us on paper and there's some terrific names there, but as a team how we played that season was shocking." Hunt was less impressed by the man Doug Ellis appointed after sacking Turner, Billy McNeill, who went on to have the unwanted distinction of contributing to Manchester City and Villa's relegations that year. Full of respect for what McNeill achieved at Celtic, Hunt soon realised the Scotsman was doomed to fail at Villa. "We needed leadership when Graham went and Billy McNeill came in and unfortunately we didn't get that leadership," says Hunt. "He gave me the impression that he'd had enough too early and he didn't really want to be there. The more the season went on, he was just running out of ideas of what to do next. As a team we were proving we weren't good enough. "The potential was there with the younger players at the club and a couple of us old older guys. "But it came to the point where Billy would ask us what how we wanted to play. It's fine to get some feedback, but the manager's the one that should sort formations out and who should decide who should be playing. I just expected more from him. I think he lost the dressing room, well I know he did." In the nick of time, with Villa down in the dumps in Division Two, Ellis ordered another G&T, this time, Graham Taylor who proved to be just the tonic. Taylor galvanised the Villa squad and with some shrewd signings, including Alan McInally and David Platt, guided the club back to the big time at the first attempt. Hunt played 11 games that 1987-88 season but the promotion was bitter-sweet as a career-ending knee problem caused him to hang up his boots before the halfway stage at the age of 31. But not until he had one last moment to savour, taking the roof off the Holte End rather than putting it on the North Stand. "I scored in what would be my last ever Villa game, a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace," says Hunt, describing his final act on October 21 1987. "It was a header would you believe? I must have tripped over and the ball hit me! But yeah, a header in front of the Holte End. That was the last game and last goal, brilliant. "I used to stand on the Holte as well. I was mainly on the Witton End but as I got into my teens I went and stood on the Holte End. "Just that togetherness, wanting the team to do well and the next thing you know you're out on the pitch and playing in front of them. "It was terrific support, I loved it. But that season we went down, my life, I wouldn't have liked being on the Holte watching that." Had injury not intervened, Hunt doubts he would have been part of Taylor's plans for long in any event. From an out-and-out winger, he had morphed into more of a ball-playing left midfielder by the time he went back to Villa and found the new manager's footballing philosophy a bit too direct. "Graham came in and was the right man for the job and did exactly what was needed," he says. "The discipline was installed, the training was upped considerably. The squad was fitter, we had a purpose. But it wasn't my style of play, I will say that. "I had every respect for Graham, but he knew I didn't like his style of play and I don't think I'd have lasted at Villa because of the style. "But what I am saying is it was what was needed and it proved that. We went on from strength to strength and got promoted, so all credit to him." Hunt's knee had been deteriorating for several years and he was surprised when Villa sanctioned his signing from Albion without carrying out a full and proper medical. "My knee was shot by then, it really was and if they'd checked it properly I don't think the move would've happened. If I'd have had a medical when I left Albion to go to Villa, I don't think it would have happened. You always expect a medical, don't you? It was like desperation, 'We need some experience in the side, let's get them in'. It worked because we stayed up the first season. But of course the following year it was such a battle." As Villa celebrated promotion, Hunt felt like an outsider looking in, an overbearing sense of melancholy rather than a medal hanging around his neck. Within a day of the damning diagnosis that his career was over, he was clearing out his locker at Bodymoor Heath. "I felt let down and just dismissed after I retired," he admits. "I got nothing back at all. So it was a bit disappointing to be honest. "I went down Harley Street twice to get opinions on my knee. When it was final that I needed to stop I was promised things that didn't materialise, put it that way, and I just left the next day." Being surplus to Saunders' requirements as Villa won the 1977 League Cup and went on to clinch the Division One championship in 1981 and conquer European in 1982 under Tony Barton meant Hunt's boyhood claret and blue dream was wrecked before it really got going and he is the first to admit it degenerated into a nightmare on his ill-fated return in 1986. But none of that can ever take away his love of Aston Villa or detract from the privilege of playing for his boyhood club. Hunt now lives on the Isle of Wight but is still confronted by the beautiful image of Villa Park, and the less spectacular North Stand roof he funded when he returns to visit his mother in Witton. "It would've been nice to stay at Villa throughout my career, but if I hadn't gone to the States I wouldn't have been the same player, so I've got no regrets about that," adds Hunt philosophically. "To play for your local club that you live just up the road from, that you've supported all through your childhood and your teens and to actually run out on that pitch and represent them meant the world, it really did. "Knowing how proud you and your family are of you and having your mates up there watching and giving you stick when you don't play well for the Villa! Yeah, that kind of thing is second to none, it really is." I'm With The Cosmos: The Story of Steve Hunt', written with author Ian McCauley and published by Pitch Publishing, is now on sale. You can buy it here.
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Explained: Aston Villa's latest stadium expansion plans
Aston Villa's long-term vision to build a 50,000-seat Villa Park has faced several complex issues. In April 2022, chief executive Christian Purslow announced plans to redevelop the ground, which was opened in 1897, across several phases. Even then, pre-Unai Emery and Champions League quarter-finals cachet, there was an appetite for expansion. Purslow outlined a project marking Villa Park's first major redevelopment since the 2000-01 season, when a larger Trinity Road Stand was built. Advertisement Plans progressed over the ensuing 18 months and a timeframe was put in place, with the intention of the ground being ready a year out from hosting European Championship fixtures in 2028. Increasing the number of seats centred on expanding the North Stand, with planning permission secured, ideas finalised and work set to begin at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Yet the complexities lingered, exacerbated by Purslow's departure. Chris Heck stepped in, taking on a different title as president of business operations, though with essentially the same remit. In December 2023, Heck confirmed that those plans to rebuild the North Stand would be shelved. Villa, however, never dismissed the idea of expansion entirely. The intention of increasing the capacity of the North Stand remained and, last week, the club renewed its intention to do so, albeit in a different way. Curiously, less than a week after the announcement confirming the new plans, including quotes from Heck, The Athletic revealed he would be leaving at the end of the season. Proposed work will continue and will be one of his replacement's main tasks. So, why is the Villa Park expansion project back on the table? Are the complications that existed previously still there? And how does Euro 2028 fit in? The Athletic attempts to explain the state of play… In simple terms, the concept was to demolish the North Stand. This would have taken place over the next two seasons, with Villa playing in a three-stand stadium. Once built, the new stand would be wrapped with the neighbouring Trinity Road and Doug Ellis Stands, providing extra seating in the corners of the ground to increase overall capacity. The project was estimated to cost £100million ($133m at current exchange rates) before recent inflation. The downsides, however, caused obvious short-term damage. Thousands of season ticket holders in the North Stand would have been forced to move seats, further squeezing ticket availability. Emery and other footballing decision-makers concurred that redeveloping the stadium would have been an eyesore in this season's Champions League campaign, given they would be playing without supporters behind one goal. Instead, the can was kicked down the road. The vision has always been to build a 50,000-plus seater stadium, increasing the capacity by 8,000 in time for Euro 2028, with the new North Stand holding more than 12,000 people. Incremental additions to other sides of the ground will mean an eventual increase to the targeted capacity and, longer-term, to 52,500 seats. Advertisement When West Midlands mayor Richard Parker was elected 12 months ago, among the first people to contact him were representatives from Birmingham City and Villa, who wanted assistance with stadium redevelopments. Parker met Heck and Ben Hatton, Villa's chief operating officer, to discuss challenges and opportunities and set up a task force to resolve some of these issues. 'Aston Villa will adapt and reuse the existing North Stand structure for the expansion,' a club statement read. 'This innovative approach ensures that the capacity for Villa Park will not decrease at any time during construction, mitigating disruption to fans.' The Athletic has seen copies of redevelopment proposals, which show a higher structure and seating to the upper tier of the North Stand, with a redesigned lower tier of the two-tier stand creating additional capacity. As well as the North Stand not reducing in capacity at any stage, it will wrap into the Trinity Stand, with a 'superstructure steelwork' fortifying the larger North Stand. Observers involved in Midlands politics, who have all spoken to The Athletic on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak, are confident that the new strategy can be carried out. The previous design would have been much trickier — it would have meant demolishing the North Stand, then there were the politics to consider. Aston residents are overwhelmingly Labour voters, but the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) — made up of 18 local councils and crucial in enabling the stadium rebuild — was chaired, back then, by the Conservative Party. This has changed since the last general election, with mayor Andy Street losing to Labour candidate Parker, who pledged to redevelop Witton Station in his manifesto. Advertisement Upgrades to Witton train station are, say the club, a 'vital component' of ensuring the redevelopment proceeds. It's the closest station to the ground, with connections to Birmingham New Street, Birmingham Moor Street, Walsall, Coventry and more. But we'll come to that later. The timeframe for the rebuild of the ground permits the main works to commence in December 2026, with contractors appointed three months before. Time has been of the essence since Villa Park was named a host ground. The local railway station, Witton, has long been a sticking point. Villa Park is only three miles north of the well-connected centre of Birmingham, but Witton is not big enough to withstand the number of fans travelling on matchdays. Any capacity increase would place an unmanageable strain on local transport, so Villa need the stadium expansion to happen alongside Witton's rebuild. Crucially, UEFA's overall sustainability strategy indicates that 60 to 80 per cent of match-going supporters go via public transport, and this would not be feasible at Euro 2028 without Witton shouldering a significant chunk of the burden. For Euro 2024, UEFA confirmed that 81 per cent of match ticket holders used free public transport, highlighting the importance of local rail and bus networks in Germany. UEFA said its sustainability strategy for Euro 2028 has not yet been finalised, but is likely to follow the strategy from four years previous. Under Purslow and Street, regeneration of Witton station included a new tunnel under the railway, preventing queuing on the main road. This, however, has changed, with the installation of a new tunnel now viewed as a long-term ambition and one unlikely to be completed by Euro 2028. It would add millions more to the cost, too. Guidelines from UEFA, which organises the tournament, insist the redevelopment has to be trialled for one season before Euro 2028. Advertisement Consequently, plans are in place to create a footbridge over the top of Witton. On the footbridge, a zig-zag queuing system will be developed, where supporters would wait safely. The queuing system can be slow because shelters on the platform take up room. The WMCA intends to knock down existing shelters and upgrade them. Trains to the station have been reduced since the outbreak of Covid-19. The city line runs more frequently when Villa Park is in use, but the frequency of matchday trains has dropped from six per hour to four. With Villa's participation in the Champions League adding more games at night and on Sundays, transport links have become even more problematic. Other controllable factors are being assessed. One example is to ensure trains, when they do arrive at the platform, wait a minute longer to enable more supporters to board. Last year, West Midlands Railway welcomed a longer stock of carriages that can bear greater capacity. A statement from Villa reads: 'Without that commitment (towards stronger travel links), we cannot proceed with this project and would need to reexamine whether we could continue as a Euro 2028 host venue.' In 2023, before further inflation, rebuilding Witton fully would have cost £30m, comparable to what it took to redevelop Perry Barr, another Midlands station, in 2021. If the regeneration of Witton is approved, the WMCA is set to fund it. Villa can point towards its contribution to the local economy by creating jobs and increasing footfall in the surrounding areas. Yet there remains a contrasting argument from some observers, who state that if Villa Park's expansion hinges so greatly on Witton Station — as the club outlines in its statement — Villa could contribute towards some of the funding. This is not expected to be on the table. Multiple observers close to the situation have preached caution, questioning whether the money needed from the WMCA would be better served elsewhere. There are competing requirements for funding, including from other Birmingham stations. And, considering how quiet it is when Villa Park is not in use, is Witton worth the investment? Advertisement 'These arguments are really hard when you're using a station to that degree only every two weeks,' said a source involved in the funding. 'Every project that requires funding needs a good level of due diligence and a good business case.' WMCA held conversations with Lisa Nandy, the secretary of state for culture, media and sport, and her team regarding Witton and will have further dialogue with the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander. Over the past year, focus has sharpened on ensuring steady funding and the WMCA has used the prospect of Euro 2028 and Villa's on-field success to build the case for deserving investment. There is pragmatism from all parties that while a total rebuild is off the table and therefore will likely cost less than the initial £30m, smaller changes would enable Villa Park's capacity to be increased. 'The area's regeneration will begin with a £100m-plus investment in the first phase of improvements to Villa Park,' said the club's statement. 'Once operational, the project will contribute an estimated £119.9m to the West Midlands economy each year, creating hundreds of jobs during and post-construction, and attracting 1.65m visitors to the local area annually.' Being a host ground for the Euros would boost the local economy and provide an opportunity for political figures to raise their profiles in the run-up to an election year. For Villa, more supporters mean increased revenue, which is key to solving the puzzle of profit and sustainability rules (PSR). Infrastructure investment does not impact the bottom line (at least not until it is built and generating income), enabling the club to invest in methods that will grow revenue. Though improvements to Witton Station are needed, it is not a panacea in ensuring Villa can reach 50,000 capacity before the target date. Expanding the stadium would have repercussions for the surrounding areas, since Villa Park is stuck on an island surrounded by terraced housing. Transport issues have lingered since Villa returned to the Premier League in the 2019-20 season. Cars were being parked closer to the ground, some on curbs and double yellow lines. Parking restrictions have also contributed to the rise of supporters using taxis, with Uber drivers presenting a traffic challenge that previously did not exist. Advertisement Many fans walk away from the stadium for 20 minutes before calling a taxi to get away from the traffic, but that solution is problematic for those with mobility issues. Shuttle buses to Birmingham New Street Train station would ease supporter congestion, and this route is being encouraged. Birmingham City put on free buses to any supporter with a match ticket, while Villa buses cost £5. A wider, holistic approach is needed for buses. For instance, the WMCA is looking at widening the roads along the bus routes so that they could make a turn in the road, improving the regularity of pick-ups and drop-offs. WMCA officers are also assessing whether safe cycling and walking routes would help. CAA ICON, a strategic management firm for public and private sports facilities, is working with Villa to execute the construction. CAA Icon has an extensive portfolio of redeveloped arenas in North America. Grimshaw Architects is also involved in the redesign. The key now is what happens with any government funding. While Villa's announcement to push ahead with the rebuild was met with positivity, there is a lot more to do.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'I regret playing cricket': Former India captain drops bombshell
AFP Photo Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin has expressed deep disappointment over the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) Ombudsman's directive to remove his name from the North Stand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The former cricketer did not hold back his emotions, calling the situation 'heartbreaking' and a 'complete disgrace to the sport.' Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "It pains me deeply to say this, but I sometimes regret having played cricket. It's heartbreaking to see individuals with little to no understanding of the game now in positions to teach and lead. It's a complete disgrace to the sport," he told IANS. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Azharuddin, who served as HCA president from September 2019 to September 2023, said he intends to take legal action and urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI ) to step in. Poll Should the BCCI intervene in this situation involving Azharuddin? Only if evidence is provided No Yes "I am determined to pursue legal action against this injustice, and I urge the BCCI to intervene and take appropriate action. This issue isn't isolated – Sunrisers Hyderabad also had a dispute with the association over passes, highlighting a pattern of mismanagement and conflict," the former skipper said. Huge prediction! KL Rahul would play in place of Rishabh Pant in 2026 T20 World Cup He further added that the situation has become personal, especially after he was barred from contesting the HCA elections . "What's unfolding is beyond comprehension, and it hurts me on a personal level. I was not allowed to contest the HCA elections, simply because I exposed the corruption within the system. That truth made me a target," he said. The decision to remove Azharuddin's name from the stadium stand was taken by Justice (Retd) V. Eswaraiah, the HCA's ethics officer, following a petition filed by Lords Cricket Club — a member unit of the state association. The petition alleged that Azharuddin, during his tenure as HCA president, misused his position by taking arbitrary decisions. It pointed specifically to an Apex Council meeting in December 2019, just a month after he took office, where a resolution was passed to name the North Stand after him. According to HCA rules, such resolutions require approval from the General Body, which was reportedly not obtained.
BBC News
20-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Hardest league in world can also be greatest place to learn'
You are Andres Garcia. You are 22 years old and six weeks ago you were playing in the Spanish second division. You were quietly impressing good judges, but mostly unknown outside that league, yet to experience top-division or international football at any you are at Villa Park, playing in the world's biggest domestic league, selected by one of your country's most decorated coaches. Just a few yards away is Marco Asensio, among the finest players in your nation's recent history. And facing you is many people's idea of the strongest side in all the noise and pomp, you settle to your work, shuttling up and down your flank, you fizz over a couple of good crosses, win a corner, rouse the fans in the North Stand. You seem to belong then, for only an instant, your concentration glitches under pressure. Your pass runs straight to Diogo Jota. You clasp your hands to your head, helpless, and in just four seconds Liverpool turn your mistake into a stare at the turf. Now what? Do you shrink or stand up?"The young players, they have to get their own process," Unai Emery told me later. "I think Andres Garcia's potential is really huge, we can exploit, and because his orientation with us has been so quick, he is not really playing feeling uncomfortable. He is playing more or less in our idea, getting his position and getting his qualities in our structure. His process is like that."Emery trusts his processes and Garcia should too. Hopefully, he was reassured by his manager's faith in his ability and by the very fast response of several of his team-mates, who were clearly alert to the danger that their inexperienced colleague might be swamped by emotion and his great credit, Garcia got back to work, contributed well and was warmly applauded when substituted in the second half."He can make some mistakes, but learn quick, and try to do the process always looking forward," said Emery. "[He is] as well being very demanding himself every day... his attitude is fantastic, this is the most important of course."Wherever Garcia's career takes him, he will doubtless remember this night and that moment. It must have been deeply painful, but there is good reason to think this promising young player - the least heralded and therefore perhaps most interesting of Villa's recent signings - will be stronger for having experienced hardest league in the world can also be the greatest place to to full commentary of Aston Villa v Chelsea at 17:30 GMT on Saturday on BBC Radio WMTune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights
