‘Aston Villa must kick off stadium expansion’ as £85m news confirmed – Keith Wyness
Aston Villa are thriving on the pitch but posted a huge loss of more than £85million for the 2023-24 campaign in recent days.
The Midlands giants insisted in a statement the figure is “in line with the strategic business plan” and claimed they continue to comply with Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Villa posted an even higher loss in the previous campaign – £119.6million for the 2022-23 season.
The Champions League quarter-finalists are undertaking a revenue-boosting development at their stadium – including the construction of a new beer hall and fan events area.
But Aston Villa’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – has now insisted the time is right for the club to go further.
Aston Villa must find solution to stadium expansion problem, says Wyness
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness claimed Villa cannot currently add “20,000 to 30,000” seats due to transport bottlenecks around Villa Park.
Man United and Newcastle are exploring new stadium builds while Everton and Tottenham have recently opened their new and improved homes.
| Club (Stadium) | Capacity |
| Man United (Old Trafford) | 74,197 |
| Tottenham (Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) | 62,850 |
| West Ham (London Stadium) | 62,500 |
| Liverpool (Anfield) | 61,276 |
| Arsenal (Emirates Stadium) | 60,704 |
| Man City (Etihad Stadium) | 52,900 |
| Newcastle (St James’ Park) | 52,258 |
| Aston Villa (Villa Park) | 42,918 |
| Chelsea (Stamford Bridge) | 40,173 |
| Everton (Goodison Park) | 39,572 |
Wyness insisted Villa must follow in their footsteps and find a solution to continue competing at the top.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “Villa have done very well, they’re on growth and they’ve done well with player trading.
“They’ve managed to keep within PSR with some clever trading from Monchi.
“They are trying to be aggressive on the revenue side, but they are constrained with Villa Park in terms of size.
“It would be a problem to increase the capacity because of transport bottlenecks, so they can’t really build another 20,000 to 30,000 seats.
“They’ve had European success and that money coming in – that’s their best chance now to make a big difference.
“The form is getting them back into contention for the fifth spot in the Premier League and that would be key for Villa.
“It’s a very important end of the season, but they are a club on the move.
“They will fight tooth and nail to be in the top six on a consistent basis. Off the pitch, it’s a positive situation.
“They need to look long-term at sorting the transport at Villa Park so they can boost capacity and revenue that way.”
Aston Villa stance on shock Rogers transfer revealed
Meanwhile, Football Insider revealed on Wednesday (9 April) that Aston Villa are confident of keeping Morgan Rogers this summer despite potential interest from Man City.
In recent days, Man City have been linked with a shock move to bring the 22-year-old back to the Etihad Stadium this summer.
Sources say three-cap England international Rogers is happy at Villa Park after signing a contract running until June 2030 late last year (2024).
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