Premier League football club Aston Villa has today (Thursday) unveiled new CGI images of its planned redevelopment of Villa Park.
Villa intends on submitting a planning application for the redevelopment and expansion of the stadium at the end of the month. The club hopes the plans, which would increase Villa Park’s capacity to over 50,000, will pave the way for a “world-class sporting venue”.
In June, Villa launched a pre-application planning consultation on the first phase of its long-term vision for Villa Park and the surrounding area. The consultation ran until July 24 and gathered feedback from the local community, organisations and fans ahead of the designs and plans being finalised.
The first phase of the development, anticipated for between 2023 and 2025, would involve a rebuilt North Stand wrapping into an enhanced Trinity Stand. Approximately 7,400 seats would be added to the stadium’s current capacity of 42,785.
Villa Live, a brand-new standalone multi-use entertainment, community and retail venue destination incorporating a club museum, would also be built, whilst the stadium’s Witton Lane entrance and the public space around the North Stand would be revamped.
The consultation found that 92.9% of respondents strongly support the club’s overall vision for Villa Park, with 66.1% agreeing that the redevelopment will have a positive impact on the local community and 89.8% agreeing that it will have a positive impact on the club.
The creation of Villa Live was strongly supported by 85.3% of respondents, with 88.2% strongly supporting the transformation of the space around the North Stand area.
Villa chief executive Christian Purslow said: “Following a successful consultation period, we are pleased to announce that we will be submitting our proposals for the redevelopment and expansion of Villa Park at the end of the month.
“We have received a hugely positive response from the local community, our supporters and other stakeholders and are confident that this project will transform both the stadium and the local area. These new CGI images showcase our spectacular vision for Villa Park which includes a brand-new commercial destination, Villa Live and high-quality public space for the community. We look forward to continuing to work with all partners to realise our future vision.”
From 2025 onwards, Villa will identify further refurbishment works and capacity uplifts to Villa Park’s other two stands, while also focusing on how the club can be a “catalyst for regeneration and transformation” in the local community.
The first phase of Villa Park improvements would cost more than £100m (€118m/$118m). Villa expects a decision on the planning application to be made towards the end of the year.
Images: Aston Villa
