As the football world shift focus to the international scene, Aston Villa have begun the redevelopment work on their stadium.
Villa Park is what English football heritage is all about, which is the reason why the club want to ‘adapt and expand’ rather than demolish their history.
Last summer, the Villans sought permission from Birmingham City Council to add roughly 6,000 seats to the North stand and, with updates to the other three stands, the total capacity will reach over 50,000.
Villa have now confirm that preparatory work has commenced as the international break starts, making the most of the three weeks until their next game.
Aston Villa stadium set to undergo new development. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
In a statement, they revealed: “As part of our commitment to delivering the new North Stand on schedule, the first phase of works will involve the removal of the existing structures located in the North East and North West corners of the stadium.
“This will be completed ahead of our home fixture against Bologna on 16 April.
“As a consequence of these works, the existing concourse and turnstile facilities serving supporters in the lower tier of the North Stand will be removed for the remainder of the season.
“To ensure supporters continue to have access to essential services, the Club will install temporary food and beverage outlets and toilet facilities for fans using this area of the stadium.
“In addition, access to the stand will be via a temporary turnstile installation.
“We recognise that these temporary arrangements may cause some inconvenience to supporters during the final weeks of the season.
“However, these early works are a necessary step in keeping the North Stand redevelopment programme on track and ensuring we deliver the significantly enhanced matchday experience that has already been shared with our fans.”
The redevelopment work is expected to cost in the region of £100m.
Aston Villa have seen their reputation grown under Unai Emery as they fight at the top of the Premier League table and most recently have reached the Europa League quarter-finals.
The expansion is expected to attract 255,850 additional annual visitors and generate a further £13million.
