Villa chief on Villa Park expansion, crest, training ground and anniversary plans

Aston Villa’s President of Business Operations Chris Heck has given his first in-depth interview since joining the club over the summer.

Heck has now been in position for six months, and although we’ve heard about supporter group meetings and other activity behind the scenes, he has opted against being a public figure since he was appointed.

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There has been ongoing engagement both on social media and in person, but he has now revealed that it was a conscious decision, as he wanted to learn as much as possible to fully understand his new surroundings and what the fans, in particular, want, moving forward.

While Villa continue to impress on the pitch with Unai Emery guiding us to a brilliant start to the campaign both in the Premier League and Europa Conference League, it’s fundamental that we continue to grow, develop and evolve off the pitch too, and that’s where Heck and his team come in.

In order to be in a position to compete with the top sides both domestically and in Europe, the club must expand its reach and commercialisation avenues, but in a measured, balanced and fan-first approach, Heck has provided some key updates that impact our plans in the coming months.

Among the most pertinent topics was the redevelopment of Villa Park, where the expectation has been that the North Stand would be rebuilt to increase capacity starting from next summer. However, Heck has seemingly dismissed that idea for now, and has given his reasoning for the decision.

On his first six months at Villa

“Six months have been great,” he told VillaTV. “It has been an education, it has been a journey of ups and downs, but mostly ups because our team on the pitch are playing so extremely well. It’s an absolute honour to be working with Aston Villa.

“I wanted to give it six months [before speaking], as I thought it was a good amount of time to learn about how things work at Aston Villa and understand what is important to the supporters, listen to them and ask questions. I am a very curious person and I did not want to assume I knew the answers without spending a good amount of time here every day and every night living and breathing Aston Villa.”

On the North Stand rebuild, Villa Park expansion plans

“The North Stand [rebuild] is a massive project. When I came in it was right in front of me. There were extremely ambitious ideas and a lot of it was thoughtful.

“What I will say is this. Over the summer months I became more concerned we were adding too many seats too fast. It was important that we took a step back and re-evaluate what is best for our fans.

“I mention this with the transportation, I mention this with the parking situation. What I would also mention is that we have 42,000 plus seats. It is a substantial amount. To add on 10,000 right now doesn’t seem practical to me and I will tell you why.

“Number one, we talk about Villa Park being a fortress. It is true. There is no better home advantage than at Villa Park and I think it would be a bad idea to tear down one of the stands for a two year period while we are playing like we are. I think that going forward, everything should be about all fans and not just one particular stand.”

Plans for next summer

“We are going to start renovating the Warehouse area. That is a massive space that we think can be a hospitality zone and an entertainment zone for 3,000 fans. Not only pre-game and post-game, but also for concerts and other shows that we have at Villa Park.

“We are going to do a lot of renovation at Bodymoor Heath to continue building our academy, our womens programme, to build more for our first-team and be more attractive to bring in talent around the world.

“Those components are really important. There is another one. We will enhance out technology and some of the practical facilities at Villa Park in all four stands. Don’t be surprised if you see our superstore double in size this summer as we are going to be very, very active with merchandising.”

Update on the club crest, 150th anniversary plans

“We are working very closely with supporter groups and individuals that are fans. The crest is for the fan. It is worn by the players and it is for the fan.

“We are passing it over to them to decide what is best. It is going to be great for the club and for the next 150 years.

“The hope is that the crest will be shown to all fans when it will be complete this winter. I expect that to be in a few weeks. I am very excited to see how that goes.

“I will say that the crest will be on the kit come summertime. I think you will find a lot of interesting new aspects to the kit come summer, including maybe the 150th marque.

“There is nothing better than history. With a club like Aston Villa, being the first big club to hit that 150th mark, that gives us a format and a plan to put in place something which has never been seen before in English football.

“We will launch our 150th anniversary marque in logo and you’ll start to see a countdown clock in days from the end of the season which we will officially start the celebration.

“This 150th year celebration will be about the fans, the heritage, the former players and coaches. All of this success which the club has had. We want everybody’s input to be a part of this.

On Atairos investment deal, message for Villa fans

“I think that this is something which will set us apart from every club in the world.”

“It’s another sample of this club becoming an absolute big club in the world. We will have this infusion of support for V Sports and it is going to be great for Villa as we continue to grow.

“A big thank you for allowing me to be on this journey with you and to do what is best for Aston Villa. That is the goal here, to try to contribute to this unbelievable club, this historic club, and be part of something really special. I love working with Monchi, Unai, Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris are incredible owners. This is a special time to be a Villan and I am very, very grateful.”