Kieran Maguire shares alarming ‘£20m’ Aston Villa claim after owners pull plug on deal
The decision to scrap Villa Park’s £100million redevelopment is a ‘short-term’ decision by the Aston Villa board.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that Villa desperately need to increase their matchday income if they want to continue their on-pitch success.
Villa gained planning approval for a £100million project to expand Villa Park’s capacity to over 50,000, but the Birmingham-based club has decided to pull the plug on the deal.
Villa CEO Chris Heck said it would not be “practical” for the club to lower their capacity for the next two years during construction when the team is in good form.
Unai Emery’s side are currently second in the Premier League table and through to the knockout phases in the Europa Conference League.
The club now plans to implement a new plan to add just 3,000 seats to Villa Park without completely reconstructing their North Stand.
Maguire explained that Villa currently earn £100million less than Tottenham each season in matchday income so the decision to scrap the redevelopment project is confusing.
“There are so many things going right for Villa on the pitch at present – they’re playing great football and have a genuine chance of qualifying for the Champions League,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“But if they are going to be competitive going forwards, then they need to have a stadium which can generate substantial matchday income.
“They bring in less than £20million per season. Spurs bring in £120million.
“It seems they will now only add just 3,000 seats, which admittedly will be premium price seats, but it does seem to be a short-term decision.
“The new owners in [Wes] Edens and [Nassef] Sawiris have hardly put a foot wrong since they acquired the club.
“But I think this will leave a lot of Villa fans scratching their heads as a modern-day Villa Park could be attractive in a variety of ways.
“When it comes to filling a 50,000 or 55,000 stadium, we know that Villa have the fanbase to consistently fill that.“
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