- A Premier League football club has put plans on hold to redevelop their stadium
- Several clubs including Fulham and Liverpool have renovated their stadiums
- It’s extraordinary how people behave in football stadiums… champion Ollie Watkins for what he did to dish it out to the fans – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off
Aston Villa have announced that they will be putting plans to redevelop Villa Park on hold for the forseeable future, despite being granted planning permission to redevelop the historic stadium.
Villa unveiled their ‘spectacular vision’ to expand the ground’s capacity by adding an additional 10,000 seats to the 42,640-seat stadium.
The proposals had included the addition of a new two-tiered North Stand which was completed in 1977, and upgrades to the Trinity Stadnd that could potentially sit an additional 7,500 supporters.
Despite that, Villa’s president of business operations, Chris Heck, has admitted that the proposals may be a little too ambitious to be completed in the coming years, with the executive noting how well the team has been playing this season.
‘We have 42,000 seats. A substantial amount. To add on 10,000 right now doesn’t seem practical to me,’ he told the club’s website.
Aston Villa have announced that they will be putting plans to redevelop Villa Park on hold
The expansion was set to add another 10,000 seats to the iconic 42,000-seater stadium
It includede a redevelopment of the North Stand as well as the addition of a new fan zone
‘I’ll tell you why. We talk about Villa Park being a fortress. It is true. There’s no better home advantage than at Villa park.
‘I think it would be a bad idea to tear down one of the stands for two years while we are playing like we are.
‘I think that going forward, I think everything should be about all fans and not just one particular stand.’
In total, the club had projected that the regeneration project would have cost the club approximately £100million to complete.
Along with replacing the original North Stand and upgrading the Trinity Stand, the club would also look to create a new multi-use community space which would be called ‘The Warehouse’ and could be used on non-matchdays too.
Villa Park currently boasts a capacity of 42,785 and the club has a waiting list of approximately 28,000 fans.
The iconic stadium has been the home of the Villans since 1987, with its most recent redevelopment taking place in 2000 after the Trinity Road Stand was built.
‘They are extremely ambitious ideas,’ Heck added on the proposals. ‘During the summer months I became concerned we were adding too many seats too fast.
‘I believe it was important we took a step back and re-evaluate what is best for our fans.
Heck called the redevelopments ‘ambitious ideas’ noting in particular how well his side have been playing of late
He added that the club may be ‘adding too many seats too fast’ and needed to take a step back
Aston Villa have turned their stadium into a fortress this season, winning all eight of their home Premier League matches this season
‘I mention this with the transportation and the parking situation.’
As Heck states, Unai Emery’s side have made Villa Park a fortress this season, winning all eight of their home Premier League fixtures this season.
Their excellent run of form has seen them go unbeaten in their last nine matches, with the Midlands outfit rising to third in the Premier League, level with Liverpool on 38 points.
Despite the club’s plan to put the stadium redevelopment on hold, Heck did state that the club will continue to create ‘The Warehouse’ fan zone outside of the Villa Park and would also complete several upgrades to their Bodymoor Heath training ground.