User:NorthStandNiall/sandbox

Hillsborough

Full name	Hillsborough Stadium
Former names	Owlerton Stadium (until 1914)
Location	Owlerton, Sheffield, England S6 1SW
Coordinates	53°24′41″N 1°30′2″W
Owner	Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Ltd
Capacity	39,732
Field size	116 x 71 yards (approx 106 x 65 m)
Surface	Desso GrassMaster
Construction
Broke ground	1899
Opened	2 September 1899
Tenants
Sheffield Wednesday (1899–present)

Hillsborough Stadium, commonly just known as Hillsborough is a football ground in Sheffield, England, and has been the home ground of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club since it first opened as in 1899. The stadium is in the Owlerton area of the city, but takes its name from the Parliamentary Constituency in which it lays.

The ground is a modern all-seater stadium with a total capacity of 39,732, making it the largest sporting venue in the City of Sheffield and by extension South Yorkshire. The ground is also the largest outside of the Premier League, and the 11th largest football stadium in England overall.

Hillsborough has hosted international football on two occassions, firstly in the 1966 World Cup and most recently in the Euro '96, in both of which the ground was a host venue. It also has a long history of being used as a neutral venue for cup semi-finals, a total of 27 have been played at the ground since the second world war, the most recent of which was in 1997 when Middlesbrough faced Chesterfield in an F.A. cup semi-final replay.

The ground has been gradually built up over the years, with significant renovations coming in 1966 and the early 1990s when the ground was chosen to stage international games. Hillsborough's North Stand was, at the time of opening, hailed as one of the finest stands in the world, and the Spion Kop, when it was roofed in 1986, became the largest covered standing terrace in Europe. This style of expansion and renovation has given Hillsborough four large unique stands each with their own history; the stadium is commonly regarded as a "Beautiful ground oozing character" by other football pundits, despite the ground having lacked significant investment in recent years.

On 15 April 1989, the ground was the scene of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at an FA Cup semi-final. This led to a series of safety improvements at the ground and other stadia around the country, including the requirement for top clubs to have all-seater stadia and the withdrawal of perimeter fencing.

As well as being the home ground of the Owls', Hillsborough also functions as one of South Yorkshire's premier conference and events centres, with the South Stand housing several conference suits and banqueting rooms, most of which have names associated with the club.

Planning permission has been granted by Sheffield City Council to renovate and expand the stadium to a capacity of around 45,000, which tied in with Hillsborough being selected by the F.A. as a host venue had England's 2018 World Cup bid been successful. England's loss to Russia in the bid prevented the plans from going ahead, although it is widely speculated that they could be put into practice should Sheffield Wednesday return to the Premier League in the near future.

Wednesday's main rivals are city neighbours Sheffield United, with whom the Steel City Derby is contested. It is ranked highly and considered by many to be one of the most fierce and passionate rivalries in English football. United have a better record in the derbies though Wednesday have been the more successful club overall. Famous Steel City Derbies include the the [{Boxing Day Massacre]], where the Owls beat the Blades 4-0 in front of a record third tier crowd at Hillsborough on 26 December 1979, and the 1993 FA Cup Semi Final at Wembley where Wednesday were victorious in a 2-1 victory, in a game that had to be moved to the capital due to the demand for tickets. The last Steel City Derby was played on 18 February 2012 and ended in a 1-0 victory to the Owls in front of a Hillsborough crowd of over 36,000.

Wednesday also have notable rivalries with other similar sized clubs in neighbouring regions regions, namely Leeds United, Derby County and Nottingham Forest. These have been more predominant in recent years due to the lack of a Steel City Derby for 5 seasons. Other local rivals include Rotherham United, Barnsley, Doncaster Rovers and Chesterfield.

Sheffield is best known for it's two professional football teams, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. United, who play at Bramall Lane south of the city centre, compete in the Football League One, whilst Wednesday, who play at Hillsborough in the north west of the city, compete in the Football League Championship. The two clubs contest the Steel City Derby, which is considered by many to be one of the most fierce football rivalries in English Football. In the pre-war era, both Wednesday and United enjoyed large amounts of success and found themselves two of the country's top clubs; Sheffield Wednesday became champions of the Football League consecutively in 1902-03 and 1903-04, then again in 1928-29, whilst Sheffield United had won it in 1897-98. In the FA Cup the teams were also two of the forerunners, United winning it on 4 occasions and Wednesday on 3. Post war, and Wednesday were beaten finalists in the 1966 FA cup. During the 1970s and early 1980s the two sides fell from grace, with Wednesday finding themselves in the Third Division by the mid 70s and United as far as the Fourth Division in 1981. Wednesday once again became one of England's high-flying clubs following promotion back to the First Division in 1984, winning the League Cup in 1991, competing in the UEFA Cup in 1992-93, and reaching the final of both the League Cup and FA Cup in the same season. United and Wednesday were both founding members of the Premier League in 1992, but The Blades were relegated in 1994. The Owls remained until 2000. Both clubs have gone into decline in the 21st Century, Wednesday twice relegated to League One and United suffering the same fate in 2011, despite a brief spell in the Premier League in 2006-07. Sheffield Wednesday's new owner Dejphon Chansiri is aiming for promotion back to the Premier League by 2017.