There is a very good thread on H&V regarding the possible ground improvements of Villa Park that will come now we withdrawn from the Olympics signalling building works are imminent.

From a good source I have been told that the plans that HOK now Populous were asked to draw up are very special indeed and will turn Villa Park into one of the leading grounds not only in England but Europe. However this source has refused to state the detail of the plans which is a shame, so we can only speculate.

To give a brief overview that when the Trinity road stand was knocked down a lot were fooled by Doug Ellis that the stand would be preserved, when it became clear it would not be I started a website, appeared on Radio 5 only to be one of a few that seemed to care, as you can see from the picture section of this blog.

Simon Inglis

As the picture shows I had the great pleasure of meeting Simon Inglis and he wrote this article on the Last day of the Trinity for which shamefully there was no fanfare for, not that I expected Ellis to give one.

So what does the future hold for the stadium. Clearly the North Stand will go to be replaced by a wrap stand with the Trinity and Witton stands of a capacity of around 17,000 bringing the total capacity upto 52,000. this stand if done out to the same standard of the Trinity Road then this stand will be something special for both the ‘normal’ fan and the corporate person. The interesting aspect is how the stand will be modelled from the outside and will Randy go with the modern or try and replicate the red brickwork of Aston Hall ?

That is easy the big questions remain as to what will happen to the Witton Lane stand which is not fit for purpose of a modern side stand and therefore how can this be replaced by the restrictions of the residents behind it. Also as to what will be built on the massive space behind the North Stand given we will get a brand new club shop and a museum.

I have no real idea what could be built in Aston which will not only generate money on match days and also non matchdays. A Casino I think is out of the question with the one at Star City so close and the same goes for bowling allies and the such like. If I try and think out of the box I am still stumped but the next 3/4 years promises to see a revitalisation of the whole stadium and area not seen since the stadium was built.

The ‘new’ Villa Park promises to be a legacy to Randy Lerner and from what he has done so far I expect the best from Randy, if the money is available for a full refit.