Aston Villa announce redevelopment of iconic North Stand with impressive fly through video

Aston Villa announce the redevelopment of iconic North Stand with an impressive fly through video posted on their social media.

Plans are to increase the Premier League club’s capacity to over 50,000, a project which will expand the North Stand’s seating to over 12,000 by adapting the existing structure, ensuring no reduction in matchday capacity during construction.

Set to be completed by late 2027, the £100m redevelopment aligns with Villa Park’s role as a host venue for UEFA Euro 2028.

The project is expected to boost the local economy by £120m annually, support 1,700 jobs, and attract 1.1 million visitors yearly.

Mayor Richard Parker’s commitment to rebuilding Witton Station was crucial for the project’s approval.

The North Stand redevelopment will increase Villa Park’s capacity to over 50,000, without reducing current matchday capacity in the process.

The enhancements will further modernise the stadium to solidify its status as a world-class sports and entertainment venue. pic.twitter.com/Xhi76Q1P3s

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) April 24, 2025

CLUB STATEMENT:

Aston Villa Football Club today announced plans to refurbish and expand seat capacity in the iconic North Stand. As the latest instalment of the North Ground regeneration plans, the North Stand expansion emphasises Villa’s commitment to levelling up the fan experience whilst becoming a world-class sports and entertainment venue. The redevelopment will increase the number of seats available in the North Stand to over 12,000. Combined with ongoing upgrades to Villa Park’s other three stands, total capacity at Villa Park will increase to over 50,000. The stadium renovation will be completed in H2 2027, ahead of the UEFA EURO 2028 Tournament that Villa Park will be a host venue for.

Championing a sustainable approach, Aston Villa FC will adapt and reuse the existing North Stand structure for the expansion. This innovative approach ensures that the capacity for Villa Park will not decrease at any time during construction, mitigating disruption to fans throughout the process. These changes, alongside other improvements to the North Grounds, are designed to deliver the best matchday experience for Aston Villa’s fans and create a thriving community hub.

Aston Villa first announced its plans for an expanded North Stand in 2022, when a full rebuild of the North Stand was proposed. The Club has always been clear that increases to the capacity of the stadium must be done in tandem with improvements to the local transport network. Since the expansion plans were announced in 2022, Mayor Richard Parker has committed in his campaign manifesto to rebuild Witton Station. Improvements we have suggested include replacing the current station passenger shelters, introducing larger and safer queuing systems, delivering a new station footbridge and introducing higher capacity trains in order to double the current passenger handling capability of the station to 10,000 passengers per matchday. This commitment from the mayor to develop the station would not only allow Aston Villa to press ahead with the North Stand redevelopment, it also importantly means stronger travel links between Aston and Birmingham City Centre for the local community, Aston Villa fans, and visitors. Without that commitment we will be unable to proceed with this project and furthermore would need to reexamine whether we would be able to continue as a Euro 2028 host venue.

Through a robust design process, Aston Villa has found a way to adapt and modernise the existing structure of the North Stand without losing any seats during the season. With disruption to current fans mitigated, Aston Villa is able to move forward with the planning process.

Nassef Sawiris, Executive Chairman of Aston Villa FC, said: “Since Wes and I became owners of this storied Club in 2018 and Atairos joined us as partners in 2024, we have shared a clear ambition: to restore Aston Villa to its rightful position competing at the highest levels of English and European football, and to transform the Club into a global brand and European powerhouse. 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.”

With the proposed redevelopment of the North Stand, the Club’s gross contribution to the local economy will reach £120 million per year, including supporting over 1,700 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs and attracting over 1.1 million visitors to Villa Park each year.

The Club has remained steadfast in its commitment to the local community and the wider Aston Villa family, continuing to invest in its facilities, including the new club shop and Warehouse, and community projects such as the Birmingham Inner City Academy. Through the club’s official Foundation, Aston Villa has delivered projects and activities in and around Birmingham to promote sport, health, wellbeing, education and inclusive opportunities. During the 2023/24 season, the Inner City Academy supported over 5,700 unique participants, demonstrating Aston Villa’s ongoing efforts to cater to the needs of local residents, community members and fans.

Chris Heck, President of Business Operations at Aston Villa FC, said: “Aston Villa fans have been electrifying Villa Park for generations, charging the atmosphere with unrivalled intensity at every home match for more than 125 years. Thanks to the hard work and collaboration of an exceptional team, we will now be able to offer this incredible experience to thousands more, all while meeting the key challenge of executing this project without compromising matchday capacity during the process. From fully revamping our retail and hospitality facilities, the impending opening of our new shop in the Bullring, to hosting world class music acts at Villa Park, the upcoming launch of The Warehouse, and now the expansion of the North Stand – our Ownership continues to demonstrate its unwavering commitment to making this one of the best clubs in the world, deservedly, both on and off the pitch.”

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Aston Villa is a vital part of our region’s identity and I’m proud to support the club’s ambitious plans to redevelop the North Stand. Their long-standing commitment to Aston and the wider community is clear – not just through this redevelopment, but through investment in The Warehouse, community facilities, job creation and the Aston Villa Foundation. We have been working closely with the club, Network Rail and other partners to ensure the necessary improvements at Witton Station will be made in time for the Euros in 2028. I am fully committed to securing upgrades including safer queuing systems, new passenger shelters, a new footbridge and higher capacity services, so we can double the station’s handling capacity and deliver a world-class experience for fans arriving at Villa Park during the tournament and beyond.”

Expanding matchday capacity is aligned with Aston Villa’s vision for strategic growth. The increased seating will not only enable more Aston Villa fans to come to every game but will also bolster the club’s diverse revenue streams by increasing ticket availability for live entertainment events at Villa Park.

Twitter users gave their reaction as Aston Villa announce the redevelopment of iconic North Stand with an impressive fly through video…

@DTB_AVFC: To do this without affecting peoples seats is a massive task. Fair play if we can pull that off #AVFC

@TheVillaHome: Looks like we’re aiming to replicate the Anfield Road expansion project by building around the North Stand so as to not reduce any capacity 🙌🏼

@SJRH03: About Time! Honestly the North Stand stick out like a sore thumb. Great to see Villa are redeveloping and keeping the spirit of Villa Park, rather then waste loads of money on a flashy new stadium like other clubs 👀

@PaddyNolan91: Credit where credit’s due; fair play to Chris Heck for opting to halt the demolition of the North Stand last year; meant unbelievable UCL atmospheres this year and now building off the existing North Stand structure means no drop in capacity while the works are carried out.

@RationalVillan: Absolutely love it! Better than the previous plans! Keeps fans in while constructing and looks more Villa inside imo! 💜💙 UTV!

@BradMorris_96: Looks nice to me. This has been much needed with the North Stand for a long, long time.

@adam_harri52995: Knew this was coming but massive commitment from the owners once again. Massive challenge to deliver improvements to Witton before the Euros.

@RyanTCWallis: In the eight years since we announced our plans, how many clubs have stepped further ahead in terms of infrastructure? Bearing in mind our starting point was already miles below the majority of the league, the whole situation has been a farce and it’s still not even certain 😵‍💫

@ROSSTOTHEMOON: It’s so good they are not leaving one of the last bastions of football heritage. UTV

@SM_WHU: Will never hide my jealousy for this club.

@B6Nigel: Well done all at @AVFCOfficial who have made this plan a reality 👍🏻💪🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@KJ_TheSmiths: Wow. Unreal! These guys mean business. Chris Heck is transforming the club. Very impressed. UTV #AVFC

@Bar_my: Great news. A bigger, better and louder match experience for us fans. Hopefully, we can also expect a much better infrastructure to help with the bottleneck of fans going to and leaving the stadium.

Aston Villa announce plans for a bold regeneration project at Villa Park

@Stuj4z: Amazing what having owners with ambition and a plan can do. Fair play, this is actually a really clever way of doing things

@TherapyArsenal: Was so glad reading this to see Villa looking to expand rather than move. Soured by that wording at the end ‘sports and entertainment venue’. Villa Park… one of the last traditional stadiums remaining… please don’t succumb 🙏

@Kingwolf84: Wonder if @Fosun_Intl & @wolves will be benchmarking against Villa over expansion and redevelopment of stadiums? 🤔

@ClaretVillans: That’s honestly amazing that they can expand Villa Park while not affecting the crowd

@Cheadle: Am I the only one not overly impressed by this? 12,000 people that will mainly be in the Upper Tier and there doesn’t look to be many facilities to cater for them all? If they want to maximise revenue and get people to spend in the ground, they have to make the concourses bigger

@Coops_AV:
Capacity increased ✅
No effect on capacity while work takes place ✅
Beautiful design in keeping with Villa Parks heritage ✅
We are so lucky to have such amazing owners who continue to invest in our club!! UP THE VILLA!! @AVFCOfficial #UTV #AVFC

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Thoughts on Aston Villa’s North Stand redevelopment plans? 🤔 #avfc #utv

— Fan Banter (@fan_banter) April 24, 2025