- Former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson has discussed Aston Villa’s decision to close the North Stand for redevelopment
- The new plans will see the entire stand closed for the 2026/27 season
- Villa Park has been selected as a host venue for the European Championship in 2028
Former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson believes that Aston Villa had “no choice” but to close the entirety of the North Stand for redevelopment, but suspects they would have liked to keep it open to continue generating revenue.
It was announced last week that the club had decided to accelerate the timeline for their major North Stand redevelopment by closing the whole stand for the 2026/27 season.
The initial plans were for the construction to take place towards the end of the 2026/27 season, and carry into the 2027/28 campaign, whilst keeping the stand open.
However, this change was to ensure the enhancements are delivered more quickly, and so they are completed in time for the 2028 European Championship, where Villa Park is a host venue.
As a result of the closure, they will reduce the capacity from 43,000 to around 37,000. Once they carry out the redevelopment, the stadium will be able to hold more than 50,000.
Borson’s view on the decision
Borson spoke to Football Insider to discuss Villa’s decision to close the entire North Stand, suggesting they “had no choice.”
“I suspect they had no choice and I wonder whether it was really part of the plan. I suspect that this plan came later in the day than they imagined, and that the original plan did not have them closing the stand.
“To close 5,000 seats in a Champions League season, which it looks very likely that it’s going to be, when you’re in a settlement agreement with UEFA already, so you have certain obligations that you need to meet with them in terms of your revenue and profit, it’s very surprising that you would have the leeway and the flexibility to be able to close the stand in its entirety for a whole season.
“But clearly, the upside is, however long that lasts, is 25 years, 50 years of better revenue from that end of the stadium, so you can obviously understand it.”
The club previously delayed the start of the redevelopment in the 2024/25 season, when Villa was in the Champions League. This was to ensure they could not only maximise revenue, but also have the best atmosphere possible.
They would have probably liked to do the same thing for next year, but other circumstances may have forced their hand.
Financial impact
Borson also talked about the financial impact the closure will have.
“You obviously have to take some pain at some point. It’s just slightly surprising that there wasn’t a kind of two-phase situation, where maybe you do the back of the stadium, and you leave the lower part open, which is what a number of clubs have done over the years.
“City are doing it now, for example. Liverpool did it at one point. You continue to generate revenue from the existing infrastructure, but you build around it and on top of it.
“Now, obviously, that would have been the preference. They obviously haven’t been able to do it for whatever reason, whether that’s building, planning, or maybe just the whole scale of the change means that they can’t do it.
“But it’s not ideal for them to have to close one end of the stadium in a Champions League season.”
Whilst there will be a short-term financial impact, Villa would probably hope that the potential Champions League money may partially offset the hole in revenue.
It seems it was a decision they had to make, and in the long-term, the club will massively benefit from it.
