ASTON VILLA fans are set to get their first glimpse at the stadium upgrades that forced 900 season ticket holders out of their regular seats.
The club have ambitious plans to redevelop Villa Park and significantly increase the capacity – but for now have made some smaller changes.
The club received planning permission to completely rebuild the North Stand in 2022 but decided against it last year.
Chris Heck, Villa’s president of business operations, claimed it was not the right time to undergo a redevelopment.
In December, he said: “We have 42,000 seats. A substantial amount. To add on 10,000 right now doesn’t seem practical to me.
“We talk about Villa Park being a fortress. It is true. I think it would be a bad idea to tear down one of the stands for two years while we are playing like we are.
“Going forward, I think everything should be about all fans and not just one particular stand.
“They are extremely ambitious ideas. During the summer months I became concerned we were adding too many seats too fast.
“I believe it was important we took a step back and re-evaluate what is best for our fans.”
The aim is to eventually increase the stadium’s capacity to 52,000 seats.
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Villa Park is set to host some matches at Euro 2028 so any major work could be completed by then.
For now, Aston Villa have pushed on with some more minor changes that fans will be able to see this weekend when they host Arsenal on Saturday.
The club have looked at improving the current facilities at Villa Park during the summer break.
Among the changes are the installation of new rail seating, additional seats to increase capacity and new hospitality areas across a range of price points.
Approximately 900 season ticket holders in the North, Doug Ellis and Trinity Road stands have been displaced as a result.
Villa aren’t the only club making changes.
Crystal Palace are also set to make huge upgrades to their stadium.
Club officials have received the green light to build a new state-of-the-art stand that will house 15,300 fans at Selhurst Park.
It will take the capacity of Selhurst Park from 25,486 to over 34,000.
Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium currently looks like a building site.
Meanwhile, Fulham are opening their new Riverside Stand across the course of the current campaign.
