Aston Villa have announced plans to refurbish and expand the iconic North Stand at Villa Park in news that many Villa fans feel has been a long time coming.
The planned works on the North Stand will take the stand's capacity from around 5,000 to 12,000 and take the overall capacity at Villa Park over the 50,000 mark. This means that Villa Park will become the eighth club stadium in England to pass this milestone.
The announcement comes three years after the club first revealed their intentions to renovate Villa Park. Back then, the plan was to completely demolish and rebuild the North Stand but that plan was thrown out of the window due to fears that it would rule the stadium out of hosting matches at Euro 2028.
Aston Villa Football Club today announced plans to refurbish and expand seat capacity in the iconic North Stand.
The North Stand expansion emphasises Villa's commitment to levelling up the fan experience whilst becoming a world-class sports and entertainment venue.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 24, 2025
Villa Park renovation gets the approval of the Mayor
A key cog in getting this work approved has been the Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, and his plans to improve the facilities at Witton Station – the closest railway station to the stadium.
Amongst other things, Parker has committed to introducing a larger and safer queuing system, and bringing in higher capacity trains to double the current passenger capacity to 10,000 per matchday. Not only will this help to accommodate the increase in fan attendance at Villa Park, but it will also help to link Aston with Birmingham city centre.
As part of the announcement, the club's Executive Chairman, Nassef Sawiris, said:
“Thanks to the Mayor’s commitment to develop Witton Station and to improve local transport links, this project will mark an important milestone in the Club’s journey to becoming a world-class sports and entertainment venue.
“A bigger, better North Stand will not only allow many more Villans to see their team in person, improving matchday experience, but will also dramatically improve the Club's ability to invest and compete in the long term.”
FGG says: Villa are determined to stay where they are
Much has been made about the money that Aston Villa have thrown at players in recent years in terms of wages, but it may turn out to be a gamble that pays off. While qualifying for European football remains essential in terms of being able to afford these wages, the increase in revenues that a bigger stadium will bring will also help the club to become more self-sufficient.