First look at new-look Villa Park with stadium capacity drastically reduced for 2026/27 season in £100m expansion

ASTON VILLA are set to play at a reduced-capacity Villa Park for the first time this evening. Only around 37,000 fans will take to the stands for the clash with Arsenal – down from the previous 43,000 capacity. Aston Villa’s North Stand looks barely recognisable Credit: The Sun The North Stand is now a building site Credit: The Sun That’s because Villa have made the decision to close their North Stand for the entire 2026-27 season as it undergoes dramatic renovations. The project will see Villa Park’s capacity eventually rise to 50,000. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! The £100million redevelopment will also see new glossy concourses added, as well as fresh changing rooms and first-team facilities for players. Ahead of the Arsenal match, the North Stand structure looked very different to last season. Villa Park is undergoing huge changes Credit: X / Dean85688939403 The redevelopment is set to bring the capacity up to 50,000 Credit: X / Dean85688939403 It had been completely stripped of its roof, as well as all of the seats in its bottom tier. The stand is effectively now a building site and has been gated off from fans. Some of the structure has been pretty much reduced to rubble as Villa continue their ongoing project. Diggers and heavy machinery can be seen surrounding the North Stand. Most read in Football BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The North Stand had been stripped of its lower tier seating an its roof Credit: Getty Villa hope to have the project completed by the 2027-28 campaign. And the historic ground will have been properly revamped by the time it hosts matches at Euro 2028. Villa Park is scheduled to host three group stage matches during the tournament, in addition to a round of 16 clash. A major change has also been made outside the Holte End. The graphic featuring Emi Martinez, Ollie Watkins and Rachel Daly has been painted over. This comes following the departures of Martinez and Watkins to Chelsea and Al-Hilal, respectively. Villa’s old mural outside the Holte End has been painted over Credit: The Sun The mural previously featured Ollie Watkins, Rachel Daly and Emi Martinez Credit: Alamy Comment now