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| Contents | |
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What's Villa Park Like? |
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| What's Villa Park Like? | |
An unusual feature is that between the Trinity Road & Holte End Stands is a pavilion type structure that was built at the same time as the Trinity Road. This three tiered building is used for corporate hospitality. On the other side of the Holte End is another similar looking structure that is used for police control. The only disappointment with Villa Park is that the corners of the ground are open, however there are plans to fill in the corners at some point, at the North Stand end of the ground (see below). |
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The Club have received
planning permission to re-develop
the North Stand. This would
involve building a new stand that would extend
around the current open corners at that end of the
stadium. However, there are currently no
firm timescales as to when this will take place.
When completed the capacity of Villa Park would be
increased to 51,000. |
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| Holte End External View | |
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| What Is It Like For Away Supporters? | |
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Away supporters are located
on one side of the Doug Ellis Stand, towards
the North end of the stadium. Up to
3,000 fans can be accommodated in this area,
split between both the upper and
lower tiers of the stand. The concourse at the
back of the upper tier is particularly tight
and easily becomes crowded, whereas there is
more space behind the lower section. There is
a fair selection of food available and it is
the first football ground that I have visited
that offers meat products that are Halal.
There are a selection of pies (all
£3.10), Burgers (£3.10), Fish
& Chips (£3.50), Southern Fried
Chicken and Chips (£3.50), Vegetable
Samosas (£2) and Chips & Curry Sauce
(£2.50). There are wide screen
televisions on the concourse, showing past
encounters between the teams before kick off.
There is also betting facilities available in
the form of a Ladbrokes outlet. Entrance to
the stand is gained by entering your match
ticket into an electronic reader. |
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| Where To Drink? | |
| There are a number of pubs in
the vicinity of Villa Park, but most of them on match
days are either members only or have
bouncers on the door. However, Dave Cooper recommends
the following for away fans; 'The Witton
Arms (formerly the Cap and Gown), is not a
bad pub, to which half the pub is given to away fans
(there is even a separate entrance for visiting fans).
It is only two minutes walk from the away entrance,
right on Witton Island, however it
does charge £2 per person to gain entry'.
Alex Alexander a visiting Norwich City fan adds; 'We
found a pub approximately 15 minutes walk from the
ground where away fans were made welcome. It is called
the Yew Tree. Although they don’t serve real ale, they
had a good range of beers and Magner’s on draught. It
is on the same road as the Witton Arms, but with this
pub on your left carry straight on up the road,
passing Witton Railway Station on your right. After
about half a mile you will see the pub on the right
hand side'. If you arrive a bit earlier then you may wish to visit the historic Bartons Arms, located about a 15 minute walk away on High Street Aston (A34). This Grade II listed building, is one of Birmingham's finest pubs, with superb Victorian decor, serving Oakham ales and Thai food is also on offer. It is a regular entry in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. Darren Williams a visiting Manchester City fan adds; 'We have always park at an entertainment complex called StarCity. It is just off Junction 6 of the M6, going towards Villa Park. Huge free car park, plus plenty of food and drink outlets. It is then about a mile and half walk to the ground'. Please note that alcohol is not available in the away end. |
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| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park | |
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The ground can be seen from the M6, if
you are coming from the North side of Birmingham.
Leave the M6 at Junction 6 and take the slip road
sign posted Birmingham (NE). Turn right at the
island (the fourth exit), the ground is well
signposted from here. However to be on the safe
side, turn right at the second set of traffic
lights (there is the King
Edward VII pub on the corner) on to Aston
Hall Road. This road will take you down to the
ground. Mostly street parking (don't be surprised
though if you are
approached by kids wanting to 'mind your car'), although this is not as plentiful
as it once was due to a local residents only
parking scheme now in place in the streets
around the Witton roundabout area. |
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| By Train | |
| Take the short train journey from Birmingham New Street (around 10-15 minutes) to either Aston or Witton station. Witton station is nearer to the away end and is only a few minutes walk from the ground. Turn left out of the station exit and continue down to a roundabout. Turn left at the roundabout into Witton Lane and the entrance to the away section is down this road on the first corner of the ground that you reach. Aston station is a ten minute walk away from the ground. Extra trains are laid on to the ground on matchdays. | |
| Local Rivals | |
| Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion & Wolverhampton Wanderers. | |
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| Admission Prices For Away Supporters | |
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Like
a number of other clubs
a category scheme for
ticket prices is in
operation (AA, A, B
& VV), whereby the
most popular games cost
more to watch.
Category A,
B & VV
prices are shown in
brackets below: Doug Ellis
Stand (Upper Wings &
Lower Tier): Holte
End (Upper Tier): North Stand
(Upper) and Family
Stand North
Stand (Lower Tier): Away
Fans: |
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For a stadium plan showing
the individual block numbers |
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| Fixtures 2011-2012 | |
| Aston Villa FC fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website). | |
| Programme & Fanzines | |
| Official Programme £3 Heroes & Villans Fanzine £1.50 |
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| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities and club contact at the ground please visit the relevant page on the Level Playing Field website. | |
| Villa Park Stadium Tours | |
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Tours are available on Wednesdays, Fridays and some Sundays. However if any of these coincide with a matchday then tours will not be held on that day (plus the afternoon before and the morning after). The cost for the tour only is £9.95 for adults and £6.95 for under 16's. There is also the option to take lunch in the Corner Flag restaurant overlooking the pitch. The cost of the tour plus lunch is; Adults £16.95 and Under 16's £11.95. On Sundays the Club offer a combined tour and Sunday lunch package for £22.50 adults and £11.95 for under 16's. Family tickets are also available. Tours can be booked on 0800 612 0970 or can be booked online with the club. |
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| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record
Attendance: 76,588 v Derby County FA Cup 6th Round, March 2nd, 1946. Modern All Seated Attendance Record: 42,788 v Liverpool Premier League, December 29th, 2009. Average Attendance: 2010-2011: 37,194 (Premier League) 2009-2010: 38,573 (Premier League) 2008-2009: 39,634 (Premier League) |
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| Fans Reviews Of Villa Park | |
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Joe Fowler (Chelsea)
31/03/12 |
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| Hotel Accommodation | |
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If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Late Rooms. They have a huge choice of places to stay and their booking facility is straightforward to use. Yes this site will earn a small commission if you book through them, but it will go to help with the running costs of keeping the Guide going. Hotels are listed giving details of their distance from the ground. Access their Birmingham Hotels and Guest Houses page. Remember that you can use the above link or panel
below to book any other hotels that you may need for
business or leisure, either in the UK or abroad.
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| Map Showing The Location Of Villa Park, Railway Stations And Listed Pubs | |
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Instructions for using
the map: |
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| Feedback | |
| If anything is incorrect or
you have something to add, please e-mail me duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide. |
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