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Dr Tony Xia has made no secret of his desire to improve Villa Park.

Aston Villa’s historic stadium has started to look a little rough around the edges in recent years and Xia plans to give it a face-lift.

There are also plans to improve the playing surface at Villa Park which has shown considerable wear and tear this season.

But what do we know about Xia’s plan for Villa Park?

Increasing the capacity

Xia’s plan is to make Aston Villa a force in European football but, firstly, he needs Steve Bruce to deliver promotion.

Once Villa are back in the Premier League Xia and chief executive Keith Wyness will be able to deliver on some of their lavish promises.

In order to compete with the top flight’s superpowers Villa will need a stadium fit for purpose and, according to Wyness, they are exploring the possibility of increasing Villa Park’s capacity to 60,000.

“We would be looking to take the stadium up to a 60,000 capacity,” Wyness said in September. “We are in initial discussions about how that could possibly be done.

“We have groups working on the project right now to try and bring a whole different level of attraction here – and redeveloping the whole area around the whole vicinity of Villa Park to improve it.

“We have some clever thoughts on what the area redevelopment would look like. There would be some sporting themes.

“In terms of 60,000, I don’t see us pushing the button on that until we were back in the Premier League. These things can take between three to five years too."

Manchester United’s Old Trafford remains the largest club stadium in England but only Arsenal (Emirates Stadium) and Spurs’ new ground exceed 60,000.

‘Incredible’ North Stand proposals

The North Stand has long been considered the Holte End’s ugly sister.

It’s resembled a weary version of its former self over the last few years and Xia has exciting plans to modernise it.

“We have very big plans for Villa Park," Xia explained in November. "We finished a plan in China a few weeks ago. We handed it to the management team here. It’s fair to say they were shocked.

“It will be something really different from what we can imagine from other clubs.

“One element will involve the North Stand, which I know people talk about a lot.

“The main point I want to make is it will have a very modern style but will definitely keep the historic feel, which is very important.

“But in terms of the whole plan? I am confident people will like it. People who have seen the plan love the plan.”

Operations director Ian Dimmock is one of the select few to have seen Xia’s plans and has labelled them ‘incredible’.

“When I saw the plans for the first time, I was genuinely speechless. I thought ‘Wow, this is absolutely incredible’. That showed to me the level of commitment our chairman has for Aston Villa.

“It will be awesome. Villa Park, as a modern venue, would be a shining light in terms of stadia within the UK.”

What obstacles could Villa face?

Any improvements Villa have planned would need to be signed off by council chiefs.

Xia, Wyness and Co have already held quite lengthy talks with the council to ensure they are aware of any potential obstacles which might pop up.

From what we’ve heard, all talks up to this point have gone well - but it’s worth mentioning that any stadium proposals are still in their infancy.