- Stadium Name: Villa Park
- Year opened: 1897
- Capacity: 42,918
History of the stadium
Welcome to the home of Aston Villa Football Club, Villa Park. The Villans moved here in 1897 from Wellington Road after facing problems, including an uneven pitch. This saw committee member Frederick Rinder begin negotiations with the owners of the Aston Lower Grounds, situated in the former grounds of Aston Hall. Villa Park has been situated on the kitchen garden of the stately home’s owner, Sir Thomas Holte, ever since.
The stadium opened to football fans with a 3-0 friendly win against Blackburn Rovers on 17 April 1897, with a capacity of 40,000, as fans largely stood on the banking surrounding the pitch. This was able to grow after winning the league championship in 1899, as the terrace covering on the Trinity Road was extended, among other improvements.
Villa Park remained in the same state for over 30 years from the 1920s onwards, as no major changes were made until the late 1950s. When developments did come, Aston Villa installed four large floodlight pylons while a training ground was purchased 500 yards from the ground itself.
This came before the record attendance of 76,588 for Villa Park was set FA Cup quarter-final match against Derby County on 2 March 1946. This beats the record league attendance by several thousand, as 69,492 spectators watched the Villans in a First Division clash against Wolves on 27 December 1949.
The redevelopment of the Witton End stand kick-started in 1976 after 52 years without any changes. The stand’s design and fittings were impressive for the time, including the “AV” lettering in the seats and rows of seats designed for executives.
The Taylor Report of January 1990 resulted in the addition of 2,900 new seats in the North Stand in the lower tier of the stand. The Holte End’s roof was extended with more seats added later down the line, while the roof on the Trinity Road Stand was replaced, and the Witton Lane Stand had additional corporate boxes built in.
The most recent development at Villa Park was the Trinity Road Stand in 2000. The new stand was larger, taking the ground’s capacity from 39,399 to 42,682 and was officially opened by Prince Charles, now King of the United Kingdom, in November 2001.
Villa Park is now 128 years old, with future development plans in the pipeline as the B6 club eye an improvement for the North Stand in the near future.
Villa Park’s stands
The Holte End
- Constructed: 1930s
- Refurbished: 1994
- Capacity: 13,501 (Approx)
Trinity Road
- Constructed: 1922-24
- Refurbished: 2001-02
- Capacity: 13,472 (Approx)
Doug Ellis Stand (formerly Witton Road end)
- Constructed: 1924
- Refurbished: 1993
- Capacity: 9,500 (Approx)
North Stand
- Constructed: 1922
- Refurbished: 1977
- Capacity: 7,000 (Approx)
Notable matches at Villa Park
- Aston Villa 3-0 Blackburn Rovers, 1897 – The first ever match at Villa Park
- England 2-1 Scotland, 1899 – England play at Villa Park for the first time.
- Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 West Brom, 1901 – First FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park
- Aston Villa 11-0 Kings Lynn, 1906– Biggest home win for Aston Villa
- Aston Villa 3-4 Derby County, 1946 – Record attendance of 76,588
- Lazio 2-1 RCD Mallorca, 1999 – Last ever Cup Winners’ Cup final
- Aston Villa 2-1 Ajax, 2008 – Aston Villa secured a Europa League win against the Dutch giants thanks to a Gareth Barry strike
- Aston Villa 6-4 Blackburn Rovers, 2010 – Aston Villa make it to the League Cup final after a crazy 7-4 aggregate scoreline
- Aston Villa 2-1 Brighton, 2023 – Unai Emery secures Conference League qualification in his first season in charge at Villa Park
- Aston Villa 1-0 Bayern Munich, 2024 – Aston Villa secure their first Champions League win thanks to a Jhon Duran wondergoal
How to get to Villa Park
Villa Park is served by both Witton station and Aston station, which are served by West Midlands Railway services.
Witton station operates on the Chase Line and is accessible from Witton Road, while Aston station is on the Cross-City Line and the Chase Line and is situated on Lichfield Road.
The NX7 bus operates a link from the city centre with a stop at Witton Square, within a short walk of the stadium. The service departs from the city centre from outside Great Western Arcade and Snow Hill train Station.
Aston Villa have recently begun operating a shuttle bus to and from the city centre to help supporters travel easily and efficiently. These services depart from Grosvenor Road and run back to Birmingham New Street at regular intervals, starting three hours before kick-off for every home fixture.
Address: Aston Villa Football Club, Villa Park, Trinity Road, Birmingham, B6 6HE