Amid the recent noise around Birmingham City’s proposed 62,000-seater stadium, Aston Villa fans have felt as neglected as the city’s bins.
Around £400m of public money has been earmarked for a tram extension that would stretch out to and beyond the Blues’ Sports Quarter complex. At Villa Park, however, public transport is not fit for purpose.
It is a substantial amount of money for a city whose council declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2023, implementing widespread service cuts as a result and leading to a 17 per cent rise in council tax for residents over the past two years. Birmingham’s bin strikes gained nationwide publicity with some rats “as big as dogs”.
In fact it was a £2.4bn injection from the UK Government to the West Midlands, confirmed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in June, that has allowed Birmingham to move forward with their stadium plans.
The mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, is regularly the focal point of Villa supporters’ ire given he lobbied and worked closely with Birmingham City co-owner Tom Wagner to get the East Birmingham tram route approved.
In turn, £25m of that £2.4bn – one-sixteenth of the money their rivals are benefitting from – is set to go towards improving Witton Station, the nearest stop to Villa Park, which is small and often overcrowded.
The i Paper understands further details will be announced in the summer, with the project currently at the design and planning stage.
“Fans have waited long enough,” Parker told The i Paper.
“Queues and congestion after matches have been a real frustration, and this funding will deliver the action I promised.
“Villa is a club on the up, on and off the pitch, and their ambition should be matched by our local transport facilities, making a day out at Villa Park a pleasure from start to finish.
“Better public transport will also encourage investment in new homes, jobs and other opportunities for the local community, with the benefits felt far beyond just matchdays.”
“What about Witton?” has been a common response from Villa fans to Birmingham’s extra funding.
Villa fan Gerard Brand tells The i Paper: “Transport around Villa is so bad fans feel they need to leave the stadium early to get home at a decent hour. A lot of work needs to happen.”
Why improvements are essential for Villa Park
Birmingham City’s plans to double their capacity are audacious but tie in with the club’s ambitions to be a Premier League side by the time the stadium is completed in 2030.
The new stadium would become the biggest in the Midlands, making it a direct rival for Villa Park when it comes to hosting international competitions.
Villa Park will stage men’s Euro 2028 matches, the only ground to do so within an 80-mile radius. But as part of the UK’s bid for the Women’s World Cup in 2035, Birmingham are hoping to host matches too.
Villa should be a 50,000-seater ground by Euro 2028, with an extension of the North Stand and other upgrades set to be completed by the second half of 2027.
Planning permission was granted for that redevelopment in August, and though it appears to be in direct response to Blues’ plans, Villa’s project has been at least three years in the making.
Nevertheless, it is a fascinating tit-for-tat as two of Birmingham’s stadiums improve, making the 2035 Women’s World Cup the first of many occasions where the clubs will butt heads.
Two things Villa fans want
To truly transform the Villa Park matchday experience, supporters believe better transport links have to be just the start.
“The biggest problem I have with Villa Park is the size of the concourses,” Brand adds.
“Some fans will leave their seat after 35 minutes if they want a half-time beer, and will leave the ground early if they want to avoid queues, meaning they might miss 15 per cent of the game.”
Improving concourses is on Villa’s to-fix list. They also want to follow the lead set by Tottenham and Brighton & Hove Albion by allowing more time and space to drink before and after matches.
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“The Warehouse” will become a hub on matchdays and an event space for non-matchdays, tying in with Birmingham City’s own desire for their stadium to be a year-round destination. There will be a soft launch of this space on Sunday, when Villa host Manchester United.
“If Villa win a big game it’s almost flat when you leave because you know you’ve got this horrendous journey home,” Brand adds.
“If they kept the concourse open after Arsenal for example [when Villa won 2-1], I would get a beer and celebrate with a load of Villa fans. It prolongs your day and the club get more money.
“Where else would you rather be?”
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