'Hats off to Aston Villa' - Keith Wyness seriously impressed by the club's redevelopment
Aston Villa are right to redevelop the North Stand at Villa Park this season as they look to improve their revenue.
That is according to former Villa chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who insists that the stand “stood out like a sore thumb” when he was at the club.
Villa have closed the stand for the entire 2026-27 campaign as they aim to increase the capacity of the stadium to around 50,000.
However, the £100million development plan has come at a short-term cost, with capacity temporarily reduced to around 37,000.
This is set to cost Villa significantly this season, with Wyness previously telling Football Insider that it could see the club lose as much as £10m in revenue.
Nevertheless, he believes that this project will be worth it overall, as the North Stand was in dire need of redevelopment.
North Stand at Villa Park needed redeveloping
Villa’s former chief Wyness – who served as CEO at Villa Park between 2016 and 2018 and now runs a consultancy business advising elite clubs – has applauded the club for improving its infrastructure at Villa Park.
The former boardroom member insisted that the North Stand had to be redeveloped, and is pleased that the club is taking the action needed.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness explained why he is happy about the renovations.
He said: “I always applaud clubs, as we've just discussed, for trying to improve infrastructure for fans and improve the revenue.
“That is one area that, when I was at Villa, stood out like a sore thumb as compared to the other three sides of Villa Park.
“It was the one that had to be done, and I was pleased to see they're taking serious action to do it. So hats off to them for doing it."
How will Villa Park compare to other stadiums once redevelopment is complete?
If Villa Park does become a 50,000-capacity stadium, it will be the 10th biggest stadium in the country.
As it stands, it would also become the eighth-biggest ground in the Premier League.
This will be perfect ahead of the 2028 Euros, where Villa Park is expected to host four matches.
However, it remains to be seen how the redevelopment progresses over the next few months.