Aston Villa have improved significantly under the management of Unai Emery in the last couple of years, qualifying for the Champions League after finishing fourth in the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
Last summer, they announced ambitious plans to increase the capacity of their home stadium, Villa Park, above 50,000. Here are the latest updates on the planned expansion.
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Villa Park expansion details revealed – July 2023
In July 2023, Aston Villa announced that they would expand the North Stand at Villa Park and refurbish the surrounding areas of the ground at a cost of £100 million. They were first granted planning approval in December 2022 for the first phase of redevelopment but announced the updated plans last summer.
Aston Villa can confirm the club's updated plans for the redevelopment of the North Stand and its immediate vicinity.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 19, 2023
The club revealed phase one of the project after Villa Park was shortlisted as one of the host grounds for Euro 2028 earlier in 2023.
Villa detailed the future vision of Villa Park by listing the following elements involved in phase one. They were as follows:
- “A brand-new North Stand wrapping into Trinity Stand.
- “Enhancements to the existing Trinity Stand.
- “The creation of a new multi-use space called ‘The Warehouse’ which will include a new Fan Zone destination. It will also offer a dynamic event space and community use on non-matchdays.
- “Redevelopment of the Witton Lane entrance to create over 6,500 sqm of new public space around the North Stand to improve accessibility, biodiversity, safety, and the overall experience for fans, visitors, and the local community.
- “A new, two-story club shop will be located on the northeast corner, facing Witton Lane, while the area around the new stand will feature an enlarged arrival plaza with room for street food vendors and outdoor activations.
- “In minor updates to the original plans for the New North Stand and Trinity Stand improvement, there will be enhanced facilities integrated into the northwest corner focusing on supporter and visitor experience on match and non-matchdays.”
The club were also keen to emphasise the importance of improving the transport links near the stadium to allow the plans to be realised in the next few years. Witton Station needs to be upgraded to meet the increase in visitors to Villa Park, which has been a stumbling block for the commencement of the plans in recent months.
When will the new North Stand be finished?
In the July 2023 statement, Villa said that the construction was expected to take around two years. However, in December 2023, the club’s president of business operations, Chris Heck, paused the plans.
Villa would have had to close the North Stand for redevelopment in the middle of last season, reducing the capacity to around 35,000. At a time when Emery’s side were fighting for European qualification in the Premier League, this was seen as a potential disadvantage to the team on the pitch.
Heck said: “The North Stand [rebuild] is a massive project. When I came in it was right in front of me. There were extremely ambitious ideas and a lot of it was thoughtful.
“What I will say is this. Over the summer months, I became more concerned we were adding too many seats too fast. It was important that we took a step back and re-evaluate what is best for our fans.
“I mention this with the transportation, I mention this with the parking situation. What I would also mention is that we have 42,000 plus seats. It is a substantial amount. To add on 10,000 right now doesn’t seem practical to me and I will tell you why.
“Number one, we talk about Villa Park being a fortress. It is true. There is no better home advantage than at Villa Park and I think it would be a bad idea to tear down one of the stands for a two-year period while we are playing like we are. I think that going forward, everything should be about all fans and not just one particular stand.”
He also confirmed in this interview with Villa TV that ‘The Warehouse’ project was set to start, including a fan zone that can hold 3,000 supporters.
Villa release development update ahead of 2024/25 season – May 2024 update
Villa announced the sales process for 2024/25 season tickets in May 2024, which involved an update on the development plans for Villa Park.
They said: “The Club is progressing with the development of Villa Park in order to turn the stadium complex into a first-class supporter experience. That development starts this summer with the installation of a new area of licensed standing, additional seats in the stadium bowl to increase capacity for supporters, and new hospitality areas across a range of price points, all providing greater choice for fans.”
This update meant that around 900 existing season ticket holders were to be displaced in three of the four stands (North Stand, Doug Ellis Stand and Trinity Road Stand) at Villa Park.
Transport links causing Villa Park expansion delays – September 2024 update
In September 2024, a former chief at Villa revealed on the Football Insider’s ‘Inside Track’ podcast that the plans were being delayed due to transport issues around the stadium. Keith Wyness, who was the CEO of the club between 2016 and 2018, said: “The plans are there for Villa to do it.
“I think the major problem they’ve got are the transportation links.
“It’s about the size of the train stations around the stadium. If you expand the stadium, you’ve got to expand the capacity of the transport.
“That’s the sticking point and the blockage.
“There are great plans in place, and I had plans when I was at the club – but there is this transport bottleneck.
“With the sustainable policies in place now, it has to be train links. I don’t suddenly see 10,000 fans turning up on bikes – that’s for sure.
“Some of the planners would love that, but it’s not going to happen.”