Aston Villa poised to scrap £100million expansion as new plan emerges
The proposed £100million redevelopment of Villa Park is facing the axe after the club unveiled plans to gradually increase the stadium’s capacity.
Villa were granted planning permission last year for a complete rebuild of the North Stand which would have raised the ground’s capacity from the current 42,600 to beyond 50,000.
But those plans, confirmed earlier this month as being on hold for "re-evaluation", now appear to be completely off the table due to concerns over spiralling costs and transport issues.
A recent meeting of the club’s fan advisory board (FAB) was told Villa now plan to add up to 3,000 seats by changing the stadium’s existing seating layout, starting next summer.
The move would appear to complete a considerable change in strategy, with Villa having previously appeared fully committed to major redevelopment which would have seen the North Stand, the oldest existing stand built in the 1970s, demolished next summer and rebuilt over the course of two seasons.
Chris Heck, the club’s new president of football operations who took charge in May, explained earlier this month his concerns at the capacity being reduced to around 34,000 while the work took place.
Villa currently have more than 30,000 names on a season ticket waiting list, though the FAB meeting was told a major reason for scrapping the North Stand rebuild is the club is currently failing to sell out Premier League matches, with an average of 200 tickets unsold for each.
The meeting was told money saved from changing the plans would be spent on upgrading the stadium’s current facilities and on further redeveloping the Bodymoor Heath training ground.
It was also confirmed Villa, named as one of the 10 host venues for Euro 2028, are in contact with the FA and Uefa as to how those plans will now be impacted.
