Villa must fear ambitious Blues' capacity will POWER past them

THE plans for the Birmingham City’s £1.2 billion super stadium to be opened in five years’ time are quite remarkable including the designs with the towering chimneys.

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The launch of Birmingham City's new ground, 'The Powerhouse' with Blues co-owner Tom Wagner (centre) and Steven Knight (left)

I can see the headlines now if match results do not match the laudable ambitions of the wealthy American owners: “The team goes up in smoke!”

Actually that may not happen. Since the failure of Wayne Rooney as manager, everything they touch seems to be turning to gold.

Certainly the city of Birmingham will benefit.

The most important factors in this exciting “Powerhouse” as part of the wider Sports Quarter project will be the 61,000 capacity stadium and the need for Premier League status to attract full houses.

The former will put Aston Villa under pressure with its 42,000 capacity at Villa Park and a waiting list of 20,000 for season tickets.

On the field, Villa are going great guns - currently fourth in the Premier League (a European Champions League position for next season) and doing well in the Europa League.

They have an outstanding manager and several star players in a strong squad. But they need to compete with the bigger stadiums in the future.