Aston Villa give exciting update on redevelopment of Villa Park
Aston Villa have updated fans on the planned redevelopment of Villa Park, particularly the North Stand and new fan zone.
Villa CEO Christian Purslow announced the plans to redevelop the stadium back in April via the club website with a promise for further updates later.
In a fresh interview on Villa TV, Purslow announced the launch of the public consultation as well as giving fans an idea of what the final development will look like.
“We have made great strides in designs for the redevelopment of Villa Park”, he said.
“The current North Stand is very narrow and not very deep, so it leaves big gaps in the corners which this will seek to address.”
Purslow also described “Villa Live”, a new building in place of the North Stand car park that will house a range of businesses as well as a new fan zone.
Take time to think
While this update is exciting, Villa need to make sure the development is done right.
The club confirmed that they will essentially create a bowl ground in place of the four separated stands they have now, but this was to be expected.
What they need to carefully consider is the state around the stadium after matches as getting around can be horrendous.
It is not unusual to wait for upwards of an hour after a game to get away from Villa Park, even if you live down the road, as traffic is so heavy on a matchday.
Villa are already losing the Brookvale car park to build their new academy building, with these plans further reducing parking space.
Throwing another 8000 fans into the equation without addressing the issue of parking and traffic on a matchday would be a massive mistake.
However, this is what the public consultation stage is for and the club will already be aware of these issues.
In other Aston Villa news, former midfielder Conor Hourihane has been left in transfer limbo after Wayne Rooney’s exit from Derby County.