After Tuesday’s victory over Hereford, things are looking up on the pitch. While not a virtuoso performance, the 2-0 victory with a much changed squad should keep the positive momentum going into this weekend’s derby against Wolves. Hopefully the good feeling that is starting to return to the club will translate to improved attendance over the disappointing crowd for Blackburn. With this summer’s upheaval, and the fact that Villa have played Blackburn so many times these past few seasons, it may be wise not to read too much into this past week’s gate.

In the long term, the only way that Aston Villa can compete at the top of the table is to keep growing and maximize revenue. The first and most obvious way to increase revenue is on match day. That is where the North Stand redevelopment comes in. Villa have put the plans on hold and have cited the recession as the reason.

This is true insofar as the fans who are affected by the recession have less discretionary income. It makes no sense for any business to increase the supply of whatever good or service it is selling if the demand is not there. Before the club can think about increasing capacity, the demand for tickets must be increased.

The way Aston Villa have gone about this is by aggressively seeking to increase the number of season-ticket holders. This past close season the club did a commendable job in marketing season-ticket packages. Villa bundled season tickets with other benefits such as coupons toward concessions, discounts at the team stores, free AVTV, and other perks.

Reportedly, the club has passed the 20,000-fan threshold for season tickets. Season-ticket sales are imperative for any sporting organization because they restrict the supply of single-game tickets, creating a greater sense of urgency for people to buy them. By contrast, single-game ticket sales are affected to a much greater degree by dips in form, weather, and other factors beyond the control of the sales and marketing staff. As the season-ticket base continues to grow, and the economy improves, it would then be time for the club to redevelop the North Stand.

Since Randy Lerner has taken over, the majority of the club’s marketing efforts have been to strengthen the club’s home base in Birmingham. Now that that base is starting to be shored up to a degree, Villa are now looking to expand.

Genting is an ideal partner for Aston Villa given their business interests in the UK and Asia. Sponsorship of the club will increase awareness of Genting’s casinos in the UK, while Genting will assist in increasing the club’s profile in Asia—Genting assisted the club’s marketing efforts during Villa’s recent trip to Hong Kong for the Barclay’s Asia Trophy. And Villa would also do well to return to the United States. This past summer, over half of the clubs in the Premiership visited the US, including Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Everton, and Newcastle. Aston Villa last visited the US in 2007, and football has only grown in America since then.

The plan all along was to invest in players, and, as the club’s fortunes improved on the pitch, the assumption was that revenue would follow. When you combine a recession with a manager severely overpaying for mediocre players the plan needed to be adjusted. The wage bill was at an unsustainable level, so the club has had to rein it in.

Once the wages are under control, given ownership’s history, there is no reason not to believe transfer funds won’t be there. Transfers are capital expenses for assets that, when spent wisely, increase the value of the club. Wages, if not kept in check, can ruin any business’s balance sheet. Aston Villa are doing everything they can, and doing a very good job of maximizing revenue to provide the manager as much money as possible—so that he can, in turn, put the best product possible on the pitch.

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