Aston Villa fans unable to watch the Europa League Final on a giant screen at Villa Park are hopeful Birmingham City Council will come to their rescue.
As things stand, Villa have not planned to screen next Wednesday’s clash with Freiburg inside their stadium due to rebuilding work on the North Stand, which will reduce capacity to about 37,000 for the 2026-27 campaign.
This is the club’s first major European final since they won the European Cup in 1982 and many supporters who are not travelling to Istanbul for the clash with Freiburg have been lobbying for a public screening in Birmingham.
Daily Mail Sport understands Council chiefs are looking closely at what may be possible given the magnitude of the event. Though Birmingham does not stage such screenings for England games in major tournaments, they recognise the importance of Villa’s success to a significant proportion of the city’s population – thought to be about 1.2million.
The Sports Illustrated Warehouse – the club’s indoor venue a stone’s throw from Villa Park – will show the game but this building houses only about 3,000.
The North Stand redevelopment is part of Villa’s plan to increase capacity to 50,000 by the 2027-28 season.
Aston Villa fans keen to watch their club’s travails in Europe await the decision of the council
Announcing the measure last month, Villa wrote: ‘The redevelopment supports the club’s broader strategy by increasing overall stadium capacity to over 50,000 and maximising the benefit to the club and local area of all events held at Villa Park, including Euro 2028.
‘By completing the works within a single season, the Club will limit disruption. This will allow us to open the new North Stand standard seating and concourse facilities for the full 2027/28 season, meaning supporters can enjoy the new stand sooner
‘The redevelopment will also deliver substantial football infrastructure benefits, including the creation of approximately 500 square metres of new first-team changing, medical and physiotherapy facilities, alongside the upgrade of all player competition areas.’
