Villa reveal plans to extend stadium capacity after revenues soar

Aston Villa have revealed plans to extend the capacity of their stadium to over 50,000 with a new North Stand at their Villa Park stadium.

Designs have been drafted to build a new North Stand with additional plans to upgrade and expand hospitality facilities. The capacity of the stadium would increase to more than 50,000 upon completion of the first phase.

The club will hold a full public consultation with all stakeholders over the coming months to help shape the planning application.

The club says a multidisciplinary design and engineering team have been appointed to develop finalised designs and plans in time for a summer 2022 planning application.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s premier league progress last season when the team finished 11th, helped see turnover grow to £183.6m from £112.6m in the previous financial year where the club finished 17th.

Club owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris purchased the club in 2018 and has set out a long-term strategic plan with an aim of developing, recruiting talented young players on long-term contracts.

To build on its asset value in the squad, £101.4m was invested in players including Emi Martinez, Ollie Watkins and Matty Cash.

The impact of the pandemic is estimated to have cost the club £36.6m this year due to the loss of matchday revenue and rebates of Premier League broadcasting funding. Both this year and the previous financial year have created a cumulative loss of £56m.

Losses before tax were down to £37.3m from £99.5m in the previous year, a 62.5% reduction.

However, the club says it received ‘unwavering financial support’ from the owners who provided funding of £97m of new shareholder equity. This enabled Aston Villa to be one of the first Premier League clubs not to utilise public funds via the Coronavirus Retention Scheme and not to furlough any members of staff.

The club welcomed Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge, to its Bodymoor Heath Training Ground in April where his Royal Highness officially opened the new High Performance Centre.

Aston Villa also says its Foundation has focussed its efforts on issues that have arisen in the community during the pandemic.

It has supported inner-city young people through establishing a range of programmes to support mental health and wellbeing amongst children and the working-age population. Several initiatives have been launched to provide training, qualifications and employment support for residents across the city.

The club’s new Birmingham satellite academy at Brookvale, adjacent to Villa Park, has received planning permission and construction will start shortly.

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