Villa Park is an association football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, England, with a seating capacity of 42,682. Formerly a sports ground in a Victorian amusement park, it has been the home of Aston Villa Football Club since 17 April 1897. The ground has hosted sixteen England internationals at senior level, the first in 1899 and the most recent in 2005. It has hosted 55 FA Cup semi-finals, more than any other stadium. The club has initial planning permission to redevelop its North Stand, which will increase its capacity to around 50,000. Aside from football-related uses, the stadium has seen concerts and other sporting events, including boxing matches and international rugby league and rugby union matches. In 1999, the last ever final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup took place at Villa Park. It also hosted the 2012 FA Community Shield, as Wembley Stadium was being used for the final of the Olympic football tournament. (Full article...)
Part of the Aston Villa F.C. featured topic.