The Aston Villa Fan Advisory Board (FAB) met with representatives of Aston Villa on Thursday 20 August 2026 for the first meeting of the new season. The meeting was held at Villa Park, with some members joining online, and covered the club’s summer activity, progress on the stadium, matchday improvements and the club’s answers to the questions we submitted in advance.
As always, our aim is to represent supporters’ voices independently, constructively and transparently.
Update from the club
Francesco Calvo, the club’s President of Business Operations, opened the meeting by reflecting on the progress made by the club and the FAB over the past 12 months. He recognised the strides taken to strengthen the relationship, while acknowledging that more work remains, and said that spending more time together should lead to stronger engagement and new ideas.
He also addressed supporter sentiment on social media around the transfer window, saying there is a strong sense of energy and positivity around Unai Emery and the squad compared with the same point last year, and referred to the team’s encouraging performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup.
Villa Park redevelopment
The club reported that all stadium projects are progressing well:
- Trinity Road Stand: seats have been reordered and new capacity added, alongside work to fill the corner between the Holte End and the Trinity Road Stand. The club explained that a video circulating online showing a hole in the roof was linked to the installation of a new roof section in that corner, and said it would be fixed before the Arsenal match.
- North Stand: work is on track. The club intends to cover the top section with a modular graphic design this season, and is exploring covering the lower tier too, although this presents some operational challenges.
- Central kitchen: more than £3 million has been invested in refurbishing the stadium’s central kitchen, the first upgrade in 20 years.
We asked about early stadium access for supporters affected by the North Stand closure and about the Trinity Road seat optimisation. The club confirmed that both remain under consideration and that it is exploring opening turnstiles earlier for the Arsenal fixture. We suggested that opening at 6pm ahead of an 8pm kick-off would ease operational pressure and improve the supporter experience. The club also confirmed that the Ticket Office will open at 9am on the day of the Arsenal match. We were pleased to agree with the club that communications on the North Stand project have been handled well.
Matchday food and drink
The club outlined £250,000 of improvements to the general admission concourses over the summer, including:
- a homemade pie offering, linked to the upgrade of the main kitchen
- 57 additional draught taps across all three stands, upgraded nozzles to speed up service and five brand-new draught bars
- multi-dispense units at Lower Holte kiosks 2 and 3, due to be completed before the Nottingham Forest fixture
- two new kiosks, The Holte Tandoor in the Lower Holte and Lux Greek x Pop Street in the Lower Trinity, offering a more curated menu for men’s and women’s fixtures
- upgraded snack and confectionery ranges, including Brown Bag Crisps, Tony’s Chocolate and AVFC Jelly Mix, plus new kiosk branding
The club said the Junior FAB has given positive feedback on the changes. We also suggested that understanding average spend per head on matchdays would help shape future recommendations, and the club agreed to share relevant figures at the appropriate working group. The club encouraged supporters to visit The Warehouse after matches, and suggested that wider discussions about the stadium experience take place later in the season, once the operational changes have bedded in.
People and technology
The club confirmed that Richard Stevens’ role has expanded to include Marketing and Content, alongside involvement in a wider review of the club’s organisational structure. We also heard that a new senior member of staff focused on technology and innovation has joined the club to support improvements for both staff and supporters.
The club’s responses to our questions
Ahead of the meeting we submitted a series of questions on behalf of supporters, and the club gave written responses. The main points are below.
Fan engagement
- Fans Forum: the club said it is committed to holding another Fans Forum before the end of September, and will fix a date as soon as it can. It wants to give supporters time to submit questions and to make sure the event is well publicised.
- Junior FAB: the club described the first two Junior FAB meetings, on matchday atmosphere and on catering, as very positive. The Junior FAB and the main FAB will not be combined, and safeguarding has been built in from the outset. Instead, the Junior Chair will act as a structured link between the two groups, supported by club staff.
- Matchday atmosphere: the club thanked us for our February proposal and said it remains in their thinking. It suggested a brainstorming session with the Fan Engagement team and the match presentation team once we have all experienced a number of home games in the three-stand Villa Park.
- Working group calendar: the club has shared a schedule of working group meetings for the season, subject to change depending on the playing schedule.
- Best practice: the club is open to a joint session on best practice across other Premier League clubs, including FAB websites and published minutes, and suggested a small sub-group from both sides.
Matchday experience
- Water in the Trinity Road Stand: the club has installed new storage tanks and upgraded the incoming supply to a new, larger main, which it says will permanently resolve the capacity issues.
- Wi-Fi, tickets and stewarding: the club recommends adding tickets to Apple or Google Wallet before arriving at the stadium. It has simplified access to the Wi-Fi around Villa Park, with QR codes around the stadium, and said this would be tested before the first home game. For the first games of the season, stewards will again be supported by 30 additional staff from Push Promotions to help with tickets and wayfinding, including in the new layout of the Trinity Road Stand.
- Children’s activities: for 2026/27 the club is looking at three locations, the store, a new marquee at Trinity Reception, and either the Holte Pub or the basketball courts. Activities such as inflatables, mini golf and Connect 4 will rotate through the season, though not for the Arsenal game.
- The Warehouse: standing capacity is currently 2,550. Works to the fire escapes onto Witton Lane are due to start in September, after which the club will reassess capacity.
- Lower Grounds: the club explained that the concourse is only partly open at half-time because of the operational challenge of turning the space around for GA+ supporters. It said it will keep this under review if demand grows.
Ticketing and membership
- Video membership: the club explained that all match streams now run through the digital membership programme (Villa TV) and there is a charge for this. The standard annual price is £30, with a 50% discount for season ticket holders. We pointed out that most Premier League clubs offer this as a free benefit for members, and the club agreed to reopen the point with us as part of the 2026/27 ticketing consultation.
- Displaced season ticket holders: the club said the issue where some seats were mistakenly released affected only a small number of supporters. Most have been resolved, and where original seats could not be restored alternatives have been offered, including holding the original price at the new location as a goodwill gesture.
- Membership gifts: the club said delays with 2025/26 gifts were caused by problems with its previous supplier. The gifts have been passed to a new distribution company and were due to be sent out over the following week. This year’s gift will be either a commemorative pin badge or a key ring, and the £3.45 postage quoted includes collation and packaging.
- Rewards and member benefits: the scheme will be relaunched before the first game, including a new Villa Perks portal offering discounts at a range of stores. The club will run a show-and-tell session for the Ticketing Working Group.
- Ticket journey: the club agreed that the Ticketing Working Group is the right forum for us to present the supporter journey from buying a ticket to matchday.
- Prize Where It Lies: the club apologised to supporters who have not received their prizes. If you are affected, please contact us and we will pass your details to the club so that the prize can be dispatched.
Culture, community and the women’s team
- 1897 Group: the club viewed the Lower North Stand trial as a success. Because of the stadium works it has not been possible to seat the group together for 2026/27, but the intention is to offer them the chance to buy season tickets together in the new North Stand when it opens. The club will meet the group in the meantime so that it does not lose momentum.
- Culture and EDI: the club hopes the Culture Working Group will bring ideas that help integrate fan engagement and EDI initiatives. It said it is bound by set activations each season by the Premier League, but will continue to run its own additional ones. It also suggested a conversation with the Aston Villa Foundation on collaboration around Premier League Fans Fund opportunities.
- Women’s team: the club said its commitment to the women’s team is not changing. The team has full ownership support and ongoing funding that now includes investment from an external investor. The club is building out the team’s own sporting and business operations, including its base at BMH3 with dedicated space and new facilities.
Fan Engagement Plan and the Aston Villa Foundation
Matthew Dainty presented the club’s Fan Engagement Plan for 2026/27, which builds on last season’s report by setting out key actions and priorities for the campaign. The meeting closed with a presentation from Guy Rippon, the club’s Social Impact and Community Director, who gave an overview of the club’s community work and the activities and impact of the Aston Villa Foundation.
The club also confirmed that the current banners in the Holte End will be removed and new ones installed after the summer transfer window closes.
A continued commitment to supporters
This was a constructive start to the new season. There is still plenty of work to do, particularly on ticketing, the matchday experience during the North Stand redevelopment, and making sure supporter feedback leads to visible change. We will keep pressing the club on these points and report back as the working groups continue to meet.
If there is something you would like us to raise, please get in touch, and join the FAB mailing list to hear about upcoming surveys and consultations.
UTV — Prepared, one voice.