Villa scores with hotel hope
13 January 2000
Aston Villa Football Club has won planning permission from Birmingham City Council to build a 150-bedroom hotel next to its Villa Park ground.
The hotel will be on the site of the former Holte Public House, alongside the club's existing conference centre and 650-seat banqueting suite. Finance director Mark Ansell said that the hotel would probably aim for four-star standard but with three-star pricing. "Early indications are there is significant demand for the sort of facility we're looking to construct," he said. Aston Villa may decide to operate the hotel itself, run it under a marketing franchise, or call in a well-known hotel group.
Ansell added: "Ideally, we'd like to crack on with it this year and get it open for next year."
