How Aston Villa can benefit from Villa Park development as transformative plans emerge
Aston Villa could be set to revolutionise their finances in the coming years.
The Villans have come under monetary pressure in recent years, something which was on show when UEFA fined Villa this summer for breaching SCR.
This resulted in a difficult transfer window for Unai Emery and Co., where a last-gasp Villa swoop for Harvey Elliott from Liverpool managed to spark some form of excitement.
The signing of the Englishman alongside Jadon Sancho was certainly needed, especially after Villa were comfortably beaten by Crystal Palace last time out.
With all this being said, the future looks to be much brighter as plans to develop the area around Villa Park take shape.
Aston Villa to expand Villa Park and redevelop Witton
There have been long-standing plans for Villa to knock down and improve the North Stand in B6, something which has been needed for many years.
That end of the ground is seen as an eyesore to many, and the interior design isn’t much better when it comes to leg room and the concourse.
- The North Stand was originally built in 1922
- Villa then redeveloped that area of the ground in 1977
- It currently holds approximately 7,000 fans
- New plans hope to expand the number of seats in the stand to over 12,000
- This could boost the capacity of Villa Park to beyond 50,000
As fans await a change to that part of the stadium, there are new plans in the surrounding area which could all ultimately tie in to these alterations.
Sutton Coldfield Town Council released a 513-page document back in July 2024 that outlined changes that were in the pipeline at Villa Park.
One aspect that could prove to have an impact away from the ground is the redevelopment of the Westwood Business Park and other industrial units on Tame Road.
This land is part of plans to become a residential area, providing high-quality homes, which Villa could utilise to go ahead with redevelopment plans.
The B6 club need space to build and expand into, but with so many houses around the stadium, this won’t be an easy feat.
These houses at Westwood Business Park could be offered to those on Witton Lane to facilitate the commencement of building work on that land.
This could allow the Villans to expand the Doug Ellis Stand outwards, while also making it much easier to pedestrianise the entire area, something which could benefit the claret and blue outfit massively.
There is also a chance that with these changes, the Majestic Banquet Hall and Conference Suites could be taken over to add even further space for expansion and positive change.
This will tie into the much-needed expansion of Witton train station, which allows for easier travel and ties all these improvements together.
How Aston Villa will benefit from Villa Park development
In the current financial climate of football, it is all about revenue, and that is exactly what these changes could help improve in B6.
The chance to potentially make at least two stands bigger, while also having the chance to add new hospitality spaces, would represent a sizeable monetary boost on its own.
This would only be helped by the opportunity to fill open space in and around the stadium with bars, restaurants and other leisure spaces that will all bring additional revenue in.
Making Villa Park into a venue as opposed to a football stadium is seemingly of paramount importance, and that is exactly what these changes could do.
It will certainly take a sizable number of years for all these plans to go through and have work completed, but if that is to happen, it feels as if Villa could be setting themselves up to become a powerhouse in the Premier League.
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