Aston Villa announce plans to increase Villa Park capacity to 60,000

Chief executive Keith Wyness has confirmed the club are exploring six possible options which would boost capacity by almost a third - in what would be the biggest transformation of the 120-year-old stadium for almost two decades.

Discussions with Birmingham City Council have already taken place and though Wyness has stressed the project remains at a very early stage, there is a recognition the ground must eventually be expanded if owner Tony Xia’s long-term goal of making the club one of the European elite is to be achieved.

Wyness also revealed negotiations over the purchase of several foreign clubs are at an advanced stage, as Villa look to follow the Manchester City model of building their global brand.

But it is the plans to renovate their home which will most catch the attention of supporters.

“We would be looking to take the stadium up to a 60,000 capacity,” said Wyness. “We are in initial discussions about how that could possibly be done.

“We have groups working on the project right now to try and bring a whole different level of attraction here – and redeveloping the whole area around the whole vicinity of Villa Park to improve it.

“We have some clever thoughts on what the area redevelopment would look like. There would be some sporting themes.

“In terms of 60,000, I don’t see us pushing the button on that until we were back in the Premier League. These things can take between three to five years too."

The last major development at Villa Park was the building of the new Trinity Road Stand in 2000, which brought the ground's capacity up to 42,785.

Wyness claimed the latest proposals would focus on renovating the North Stand, Doug Ellis Stand and parts of the Holte End. Both Aston and Witton stations could also be redeveloped as part of the scheme.

Wyness continued: “There are six different solutions to make this come to be. We are looking at all of them. North Stand would be the key area to be redeveloped. Other parts of Doug Ellis – and some parts of even the Holte End – would need to be redeveloped to in increase its capacity. But there are so many variables that we have to look into.

“Even though it’s a great piece of land with good access, it’s still landlocked to a great degree and there are big traffic implications to increasing to 60,000.  Things like the stations might be need to increase in size.

“Villa Park needs to be updated to keep it as that jewel it has always been.

“We have the utmost respect for the ground and what it means to our supporters and any changes would be in-keeping with that. But it needs to be increased if we are to be commercially successful long-term.”