Aston Villa Football Club has been granted planning approval from Birmingham City Council for its redevelopment and expansion.
The council gave the club and its fans a festive gift by officially signing off phase one of the development before Christmas.
The new stadium will increase capacity to more than 50,000 and is expected to attract 1.65 million visitors to the local area each year. It will also allow the club to host international events and tournaments – off the back of this the club was recently shortlisted by the UK and Ireland bid to host the UEFA Euro 2028 Championship.
But the plans also involve creating commercial space, an academy, redeveloping an area to improve accessibility and biodiversity, as well as improving local transport, which could include upgrades to Witton Station.
Once the work is complete and the site fully operational, the stadium will contribute an estimated £119.9m to the West Midlands economy each year.
Aston Villa CEO, Christian Purslow, said: “This is great news firstly for our fans – many of whom are on a waiting list for season tickets. Secondly for the club itself – as our long-term competitive strategy depends on continued growth. And finally for our city and region, with the prospect of a redeveloped Villa Park driving economic regeneration in our local community and bringing back international football to Birmingham.”
