Aston Villa President of Business Operations, Chris Heck has delivered fans an update regarding the North Stand rebuild at Villa Park.
Over the summer, Aston Villa moved to hire Chris Heck as he was appointed as the Club President of Business Operations.
This represented a change in direction for the club as the hierarchy looked to see the Villans represented on a global scale. This ranged from on-the-pitch improvement to a change in the branding of the club, including the 150th anniversary.
On one hand, the playing side of the club has come on leaps and bounds under the management of Unai Emery. This now sees Villa sit in third place in the Premier League, nearly halfway through the campaign.
With that being said, there has been one exciting development bubbling below the surface in recent years. The rebuild of the North Stand has been in the pipeline for a while now. Heck has now delivered an update.
What has been said about the North Stand?
It is safe to say that Villa Park is one of the best and most aesthetically pleasing stadiums in the whole of England. With that, the club’s hierarchy had made plans to redevelop the North Stand to improve the ground.
Speaking out for the first time since being appointed at the club, Heck has opened up about the development on the official club website.
He first praised the prospect and the potential behind it: “The North Stand [rebuild] is a massive project. When I came in it was right in front of me. There were extremely ambitious ideas and a lot of it was thoughtful.”
The plans would see the stadium extended by 10,000 and see a larger crowd at Villa Park. The North Stand development would also improve the chances of being involved in the EUROs.
What has Chris Heck said?
Although that may be the case, Heck has taken a raincheck of the project. On that, he said: “Over the summer months I became more concerned we were adding too many seats too fast. It was important that we took a step back and re-evaluate what is best for our fans.
I mention this with the transportation, I mention this with the parking situation. What I would also mention is that we have 42,000 plus seats. It is a substantial amount. To add on 10,000 right now doesn’t seem practical to me”
With the poor standard of transport links to the stadium that already exists, it is true that this could pose an issue.
Another issue was also brought up by Heck. He added: “Number one, we talk about Villa Park being a fortress. I think it would be a bad idea to tear down one of the stands for a two year period while we are playing like we are. I think that going forward, everything should be about all fans and not just one particular stand.”
With the record-breaking run, the Villans are on at home, this change may take a negative toll on the pitch.
It may be disappointing for fans to hear that the development won’t be going ahead so soon. With that being said there are proper reasons which make sense from the hierarchy.
