Aston Villa announce new North Stand redevelopment plan as Nassef Sawiris makes statement

Aston Villa have today announced new plans to increase the capacity of Villa Park to over 50,000.

The seat capacity in the current North Stand will increase to over 12,000, with the club deciding to adapt and reuse the existing structure of the stand for the expansion.

This means the work will be carried out without reducing the stadium's capacity in the meantime.

The renovation is scheduled to be completed in late 2027, ahead of the UEFA Euro 2028 tournament, for which Villa Park will serve as a host venue.

This is the latest instalment of Villa’s exciting regeneration plan for the North Stand and surrounding grounds. The project has already seen a fully refurbished club shop open next to The Warehouse, a new 3,500-seat venue due to be completed by the end of this year.

Follow our Villa Park redevelopment blog here

Back in March 2022, Villa first announced their intention to increase Villa Park’s capacity to 50,000. Those initial proposals included demolishing and rebuilding the North Stand.

The stand was originally set to be demolished last summer, but Chris Heck paused the plans in December 2023, seven months after joining the club as President of Business Operations.

Heck stated it would have been a "bad idea" to demolish the North Stand, as it would have reduced the stadium's capacity to 36,000 from the start of this season until the end of next.

Additionally, Villa have consistently emphasised that increasing stadium capacity must go hand-in-hand with improvements to the local transport infrastructure.

Mayor Richard Parker has committed, as part of his campaign manifesto, to rebuilding Witton Station — a development that enables Villa to proceed with the North Stand redevelopment.

Without this commitment, Villa would have been unable to move forward with the project and would have had to reassess their ability to remain a Euro 2028 host venue.

Executive chairman Nassef Sawiris 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 is expected to reach £120 million per year. This includes supporting over 1,700 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs and attracting more than 1.1 million visitors to Villa Park annually.

Are you excited for the plans? Tell us here

Every day, the BirminghamLive football desk strive to deliver all manner of news, features and transfer-related stories as a part of our overall package of Aston Villa content.

Our dedicated reporter John Townley - who you can follow on X by clicking here - follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between.

So much happens day to day and sometimes you can struggle to keep on top of the very latest updates as and when they occur - that's why we have produced a daily newsletter which you can sign up to, for free, and which means you'll have a round-up of the key stories land in your email inbox. Sign up to the Villa newsletter here.

You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.

If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here.

Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more Aston Villa 150th Anniversary Get your hands on AVFC 150 years merchandise

Aston Villa is marking its 150th anniversary with the launch of a new merch collection including shirts, hoodies, books, mugs and scarves.

Top items include the Anniversary Shirt, Anniversary Hoodie and Anniversary Polo Shirt, plus the 150 Years picture books Volume One and Volume Two.

from £8

Aston Villa Store Shop the collection here