History

Villa Park is a UEFA 4-star rated stadium. It is the most used stadium in FA Cup semi-final history, having hosted 55 semi-finals. The stadium currently comprises of 4 separate stands: Holte End, Trinity Road Stand, North Stand and the Doug Ellis Stand.

The club have planning permission to extend the North Stand. This will involve the filling in of the corners to either side of the North Stand. If and when completed, the capacity of Villa Park will be increased from 42,573 to approximately 51,000.

Built at a cost of £16,400, Villa Park opened in 1897, the year Villa won the League and FA Cup ‘double’. It was officially called the Aston Lower Grounds and was situated in the grounds of Aston Hall stately home owned by Sir Thomas Holte. The site had been used in the past as a Victorian amusement park. This is where the name of the stand, The Holte End came from.

The pitch was initially surrounded by a 24 foot wide concrete cycle track and a cinder running track. When first built the stadium could house 70,000 supporters. 1922 saw work begin on the Trinity Road Stand. When completed in 1924, the Trinity Road Stand was considered the grandest stand in the land, complete with stained-glass windows, Italian mosaics and a sweeping staircase.

Floodlights were first installed in 1958, the Holte End was not covered until 1962, and the old rounded roof of the Witton Lane Stand was not replaced until 1964. Villa Park was chosen by FIFA to host three matches for the 1966 World Cup. As a condition of which Witton Lane Stand became all-seater, the players tunnel had to be covered by a cage and the pitch had to be widened by three yards.

Work began on the new North Stand with its distinctive ‘AV’ seating plan and executive boxes in 1977. Its design and facilities were impressive for the time; but cost of completion caused a scandal. It was discovered that over £700,000 of the work was unaccounted for. As a result Villa were burdened with debt, which meant transfer money was restricted despite being League and European Champions at the time.

Chairman Doug Ellis cause furore amongst the fans in the mid-1990s when he renamed the Witton Lane Stand the Doug Ellis Stand. At around the same time Villa Park was made an all-seater stadium in response to the requirements of the Taylor Report. The Holte end terracing was the last stand to be converted in 1994.

The old Trinity Road Stand was demolished in 2001 and replaced by a larger modern stand which took Villa’s capacity from 39,399 to its present size of 42,573. It was opened in November 2001 by HRH the Prince of Wales, just as the old stand had been by his grandfather, George VI, 77 years earlier.

General Ground Information

Turnstiles open 90 minutes before kick-off. Tours are available daily except matchdays and public holidays. The cost of the tour (except Sundays) is £9.50 per adult and £6.50 concessions. There is also the option to take lunch at the Corner Flag restaurant overlooking the pitch (except Saturdays when the restaurant is closed). The cost of the tour plus lunch is £13.50 for adults and £9.50 for concessions.

The Holte End is one of the largest behind-the-goal stands in Europe. Opened in 94/95 season, it holds 13,500 supporters. It is traditionally where Villa’s most vocal and passionate supporters gather and an intimidating atmosphere can be generated for opposing players and supporters. As a result, Villa captains usually choose to play towards this end in the second half.

Trinity Road is a three-tiered stand, complete with a row of executive boxes. Although many fans were disappointed to see the old Trinity Road Stand go, many believe that its replacement gives the ground a more overall balanced look, because the new stand, although the largest in Villa Park, has roughly the same roof level as the other three sides.

The North Stand, which used to be known as the Witton End, was built in the late 1970s and is the most dated of Villa Park’s stands. It is two-tiered, with a double row of executive boxes running across the middle.