Hillsborough Stadium

Hillsborough Stadium, often referred to simply as Hillsborough, is a 39,732-capacity association football stadium located in Owlerton, a north-western suburb of Sheffield, England. It has been the home ground of Sheffield Wednesday since its opening in 1899.Although the ground has received little investment since Euro 1996, it is still regarded as "a beautiful ground oozing character." It has two large two-tiered stands and two large single-tiered stands, all of them covered. All four stands are of a similar capacity with the South Stand being the largest and the West Stand, usually housing the away supporters, the smallest.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. The subsequent Taylor Report into the disaster led to a series of safety improvements at the ground and other stadiums around the country, including the requirement for clubs in the top two divisions to have all-seater stadiums, and the withdrawal of perimeter fencing around the pitch.Plans by the club to renovate the stadium and expand the capacity to 44,825 have been approved by Sheffield City Council with the aim of hosting World Cup matches. The playing surface has been recently upgraded to the Desso GrassMaster system, also including a complete replacement of the under-soil heating and drainage systems, while the scoreboard was replaced by a modern 'big screen' prior to the 2015-16 season. The stadium previously played host to World Cup and European Championship football in 1966 and 1996 respectively.