Aston Villa will retain their 2028 Euro hosting rights despite putting their stadium expansion plans on hold.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Newspanda that Villa can salvage their spot as a host stadium provided they improve transport routes.
Villa Park was selected as one of 10 host stadiums for the upcoming European Championships in 2028 after announcing £100million plans to redevelop the venue.
The project was set to expand Villa’s capacity to over 50,000 by rebuilding the stadium’s main stand, but club CEO Chris Heck paused the project this month.
Heck, the president of business operations at Villa, didn’t want to reduce capacity down to 36,000 for two seasons and has therefore put the renovations on hold.
Newspanda revealed on Wednesday (20 December) that Villa could face losing Euro 2028 hosting rights if they don’t complete renovations in time.
Part of Uefa’s demands are to improve transport links to the stadium, and the Birmingham Mail report that plans have since been revealed to rebuild the nearby Witton Station.
Maguire believes Villa will retain their hosting rights once transport issues are addressed.
“I don’t think the decision to delay the expansion of Villa Park will have implications for their Euro 2028 bid,” Maguire told Newspanda.
“Part of the problem is that Witton Station has to be redeveloped to fit Uefa’s demands and trying to get a commitment for that from the relevant authorities is proving to be difficult.
“Part of Uefa’s remit is to have good transport links to all of the stadiums and that is currently something Villa need to be addressed.
“If Villa Park had gone to a capacity of 50,000 now, Witton Station simply isn’t in a position to meet the demands of those additional fans.“