Club wants to increase capacity to over 50,000 at Villa Park ground
Aston Villa has given fans a preview of its proposals to revamp its Villa Park stadium as it announced a planning application for the refurbishment will be submitted at the end of the month.
The West Midlands club, which currently stands 13th in the Premier League table, wants to increase the capacity of its stadium from 42,785 to more than 50,000.
Potential bidders for the job, designed by Grimshaw and Trivandi, would include Buckingham, the firm behind the rebuild of Liverpool’s Anfield Road end, McLaren, which has completed new training grounds for Leicester City and Spurs, and McLaughlin & Harvey which built the main athletics stadium that was used at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Villa Park was built in 1897 and, as one of England’s larger football stadiums, has frequently hosted England international games and FA Cup semi-finals.
The first phase of improvements will see £100m invested in a new North Stand which will wrap into the existing Trinity Stand, which will itself be enhanced.
The Witton Lane entrance and the public space around the North Stand will also be redeveloped and a new multi-use entertainment, community and retail venue to be known as Villa Live will be created.
The club today released a host of new CGI images of the proposals, following a public consultation in June and July in which thousands of fans and stakeholders gave input.
Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow said the club had received a “hugely positive response” from the consultation and said the project would “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,” he added.
Plans go in to Birmingham city council shortly with work expected to begin in late 2023, with the aim of completing by the end of 2025.
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Meanwhile, Manchester United said it has completed the first round of consultation with fans asking for their views on the redevelopment of its Old Trafford stadium.
A promised consultation with fans’ groups kicked off last month with the club asking them to fill in a survey “to ensure your views are at the heart of plans for the development”.
The club said “tens of thousands of fans gave their time and recently participated in our first round of consultation”.
The club has appointed US project manager Legends, which is currently working on the redevelopment of Liverpool’s Anfield Road stand, and WSP as part of the project team which is being headed by architect Populous.
Options being considered include a complete rebuild as well as revamping and enlarging the South Stand, also known as the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand.
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