PL STADIUM INFO (PART ONE)

Sunderland are back in the top flight for the first time since 2017 and as such, there are several stadiums we will be playing in that we haven't seen in a while or not at all. Here's the first of a three part series of articles giving you some information on next season's venues. Part two will be published later today.

ARSENAL

The home of Arsenal since 2006 is the Emirates Stadium. With a capacity of 60,704, it ranks fifth in terms of largest Premier League stadiums. Costing £390 million to construct, it now also serves as the home of Arsenal Women and has previously hosted eight Brazil national team friendlies, the last of which came in 2018 versus Uruguay. One of its nicknames is “the Carpet” due to holding a reputation of having a smooth playing surface.

ASTON VILLA

Construction of Villa Park was completed in 1897. It has been used as the host for a World Cup and a European Championship since and hosted the 1999 European Cup Winners’ Cup final. By 2028, in time for the 2028 edition of the Euros, Aston Villa’s home will be expanded from its current capacity of 42,918 to 50,000. Ranking 10th out of 20 stadiums in terms of size (one below the Stadium of Light), the venue has seen 55 FA Cup semi-finals (a record).

BOURNEMOUTH

The smallest stadium in the Premier League, the Vitality Stadium’s small capacity of just 11,307 is testament to Bournemouth’s rapid rise from the fourth to the first tier of English football. Opened in 1910 and renovated in 2001, it first saw top flight action in 2015 and plans are being made to increase the number of seats to between 20,000 and 23,000. This will be our longest trip of the season in terms of distance, with it being located just over 350 miles from the Stadium of Light.

BRENTFORD

The Gtech Community Stadium is one of only two stadiums in the top flight that has a capacity south of 20,000 (17,250) the other being the Vitality Stadium. This hasn’t stopped it being involved with international football though, playing host to games at the 2022 edition of the Women’s Euros and several men’s internationals mainly between countries with large diasporas in Greater London. Only opened at the start of the 2020s, Sunderland have never played here before in either competitive or non-competitive football as of the start of the 2025/26 season.

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

Actually located outside of the area the team its hosts represents (something it shares with the City Ground which isn’t located in Nottingham, Stamford Bridge is at least in Greater London) the American Express Stadium has been the home of Brighton and Hove Albion since 2011 and holds 31,876 (the 13th biggest in the Premier League). It is actually located in the nearby parish of Falmer, which has a population of just 250, in the Lewes District. This will be our longest away trip of the season (in terms of journey time), with the journey being around 350 miles from the Stadium of Light and over six hours via car.

BURNLEY

Turf Moor was one of the grounds we played at last season and the Lancashire ground now ranks in the bottom three in terms of stadium size in its new league, hosting a maximum of 21,944 individuals. Burnley’s stadium has previously been the venue for an England game, but the first and only time this occurred was in 1927. In 1886, it was the first football ground ever to be visited by a member of the Royal Family when Prince Albert Victor attended a friendly game and in 1922 it hosted an FA Cup semi-final.