Aston Villa have taken a major step forward in their bid to ensure long-term compliance with the Premier League’s financial fair play rules.
FFP (now called Profit and Sustainability Rules, or PSR) has imposed an upper limit on Villa’s power in the transfer market after they spent big to qualify for the Champions League in 2023-24.
Their outlay in that campaign has left them looking to the transfer market to overturn the £58m they need to comply with the Premier League’s three-year £105m allowable loss limit.
Douglas Luiz and Jhon Duran among the players who could be sacrificed for the cause in the short term.
In the long term, however, owners and multi-club moguls Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris want the West Midlands club to stand on their own two feet and live within their own means financially.
But that means they first need to generate revenue – president of business operations Chris Heck is targeting £400m in turnover before 2027, according to The Telegraph.
One area they are looking at this summer is matchday income. And the latest developments at Villa Park show that their strategy is already beginning to take shape.
Villa Park stadium revamp to take Aston Villa to new heights
Villa have long harboured an ambition to upgrade capacity at their historic 42,640-seater home ground.
But immediate plans to commence a dramatic makeover of the stadium have been shelved in favour of less impactful development the club’s hospitality offering.
The rationale behind the scaling back of their plans is not to upset the applecart while Villa are riding the crest of a wave having qualified for Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 1983.
In any case, the hospitality upgrades, which are now officially underway, will prove extremely lucrative in their own right.
Speaking to Villa TV on Tuesday (18 June), Chris Heck said this summer is “the perfect time to start construction.”
“It’s a historic time for the club, entering into our 150th year, so what better time to launch new areas inside of Villa Park?
“Whether that’s the North Stand, the Trinity as well as the Doug Ellis, they’re all going to have vast improvements in the hospitality spaces. It’s really exciting to be able to see this come to life.
“We’re launching these products in the next few weeks, and these opportunities for fans who want to take a different direction in their hospitality experience – not only during the game but pre and post game as well.”
How much will Villa’s stadium revamp be worth?
The current project at Villa Park this summer will see around 1,500 premium seats build at the stadium.
Villa will be able to sell these tickets for higher prices, although this has caused some controversy in that season ticket holders have had to be moved to accommodate the development.
Their matchday income was just shy of £19m in 2022-23, the last financial year for which data is available.
That figure will have risen again in 2023-24, thanks to their participation in the Europa Conference League.
By the time their Champions League campaign in 2024-25 is taken into account, the total will likely reach well beyond the £30m mark.
Long-term plans to expand the stadium to the 50,000 or 60,000 mark would supercharge that figure.