Aston Villa to expand ground to over 50,000 capacity

The North Stand will see the number of seats it contains more than doubled to 12,000

Aston Villa have announced plans to take Villa Park's capacity to over 50,000 by redeveloping the North Stand.

The club will completely refurbish the North Stand, increasing the number of available seats from about 5,000 to 12,000.

With smaller upgrades to the other three stands, Villa say the stadium's capacity will increase to over 50,000 from 42,918.

The club, who hope to have the redevelopment finished by the second half of 2027, say the ground's current capacity will not decrease at any point during the building works.

"Aston Villa fans have been electrifying Villa Park for generations, charging the atmosphere with unrivalled intensity at every home match for more than 125 years," Chris Heck, Villa's president of business operations, said.

"Thanks to the hard work and collaboration of an exceptional team, we will now be able to offer this incredible experience to thousands more, all while meeting the key challenge of executing this project without compromising matchday capacity during the process."

Villa had previously proposed to knock down the North Stand but those plans were shelved as it would have meant a temporary reduction in capacity to about 36,000.

Villa Park is a host venue for the Euro 2028 tournament, which is being held across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

'Villa Park expansion shows owners' ambition' - analysis

Phil McNulty, BBC Sport chief football writer

Aston Villa's announcement of expansion plans to extend the capacity of Villa Park to more than 50,000 is another indicator of the ambition fuelling the club's revival under manager Unai Emery.

Under the ownership of executive chairman Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, Villa have been restored to the elite levels, reaching the Champions League quarter-finals, where they were narrowly beaten 5-4 on aggregate by Paris St Germain.

Manager Emery, working alongside his long-time cohort Monchi, Villa's president of football operations, has seen his worked backed in the transfer market - as proved in January with the loan signings of Marcus Rashford from Manchester United, midfielder Marco Asensio from PSG and Borussia Dortmund's Donyell Malen on a permanent deal - by owners intent on maintaining Villa's momentum.

This has now extended to upgrading Villa Park from its current capacity past the 50,000 mark to capitalise on the renaissance masterminded by Emery.

Villa were ahead of schedule when they broke through the Premier League's glass ceiling last season to reach the Champions League.

They are still in the hunt to reach the Champions League again next season and have an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday.