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Southampton Ground Name: The
St Mary's Stadium |
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| Contents | |
| What's The Ground
Like? Rear Of The Itchen Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? Where To Drink? The Chapel & Kingsland Stands (photo) How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train St Mary's Stadium (photo) Admission Prices Programme & Fanzine Ground Layout Fixtures 2008-2009 Local Rivals Disabled Facilities Record & Average Attendance Fans Ground Reviews The Dell Hotel Accommodation Feedback Return To The Main Menu |
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| What's The Ground Like? | |
| The Club moved from The Dell to
the new St Mary's Stadium in 2001. In
some ways this saw the Club returning to its roots as
it was originally
founded as 'Southampton St Marys', hence the club
nickname 'The Saints'. To be truthful the stadium looks, quite
simply, superb. Although comparisons have been made with the Riverside in
Middlesbrough, St Mary's is better as all sides are built in the same
style and are of the same height. The stadium is completely enclosed,
with all corners being filled with seating. There are also two
great
looking screens sitting on the roofs at each end. Running around three
sides of the stadium, just below the roof, is a transparent perspex strip
allows more light and facilitates pitch growth. On the
remaining side
there is a row of executive boxes. The crowd are set well back from the
playing action, as firstly there is a cinder track surrounding the playing
surface and secondly the pitch itself must be the largest in the League
(although the playing area does not use all of it). |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? | |
| Away fans are located in the Northam Stand at one end of
the stadium, where normally up to 3,200 fans can sit. For cup games this
allocation can be increased to 4,750. The view of the playing
action and the facilities within this stand are excellent. Leg room is
good, although the width of the seating seemed to be a bit narrower than
other grounds (either that, or I am putting on weight!). The concourse
behind the stand features a Ladbrokes, has TV's which show the game as it
is played and a number of eating and drinking outlets. There are plenty of
staff and the queues never seemed to get particularly long, which was a
pleasant surprise. A range of Hollands Pies (£2) are on offer (to me,
apart from the Shire Foods Balti Pie, these are the best range you can get), plus
burgers (£2.50) and hot dogs
(£2.50). There is also a 'Pie & Pint' outlet, that as the
name suggests, only serves beer (£2.50 per pint) and pies. Perhaps they should rename it as
'Heaven'! Please note that smoking is not
allowed within the seated areas of the stadium. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to St Mary's and would happily return. The stadium has (contrary to other reports) a great atmosphere and the facilities are first class. I particularly commend the Club for the friendliness of their staff, from the stewards to the catering staff. Even as I left the stadium, a steward wished me an enjoyable journey home! Considering that away supporters are almost treated with contempt at some other clubs, this was a refreshing change. Coupled with the relaxed attitude of the home supporters and the excellent facilities, they to me makes a visit to St Mary's one of the better days out in the League. Only one minor gripe though, is that away fans are searched before entering the stadium which obviously slows the entrance process down somewhat. Phil Jones adds; 'There was an excellent view from all around the ground and the atmosphere was good. I was impressed by their having toilet facilities around the perimeter of the ground which are accessible prior to the turnstiles opening. Well done Southampton, it's the little touches like these, for the fans comfort and enjoyment of the day, which make all the difference'. Colin Peel informs me; 'there is quite a good football memorabilia shop near the stadium on Old Northam Road called "The Football Shop". It is worth a visit'. |
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| Where To Drink? | |
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There is not many pubs located close to the stadium, so
the choice for away fans is limited. Chris Hayward recommends 'the Coopers Arms on Belvedere Road
(5-10mins walk away from the ground). Good for both home and away supporters
and is amongst the closest to the away coaches dropping off point in
Britannia Rd through the local industrial estate'.
Also nearby is the Waterfront Bar in William Street,
which is an area called Shamrock Quay. You can visit the
Waterfront Bar
website for more details. Most fans seem to end up in the city centre before the game, where there are plenty of pubs to choose from. Daren Wheeler recommends the following pubs 'The Prince of Wales', 'The Bevois Castle' and 'The Station' as good friendly pubs for away fans. Whilst 'The Eagle' and 'The Anchor' (next to the East Street indoor shopping centre) have also been recommended to me.' Paul Hunt a visiting Bristol City fan adds; 'On our last visit the Standing Order Wetherspoons outlet was for home fans only, with bouncers on the door. We ended up in Yates Wine Lodge in the central shopping. There were also a lot of away fans in the Slug & Lettuce next door'. Please remember though that if you do drink in the centre, that the stadium is a good twenty minute walk away. Otherwise alcohol is served within the ground. |
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| How To Get There And Where To Park | |
| From the M3 take the A33 into Southampton.
Continue on the A33 until you reach the junction with the A3024 Northam
Road and turn left onto this road towards Northam. Then turn right onto the B3038,
Britannia Road for the stadium.
There is hardly any parking available at the stadium for away fans (for home fans you can pay £5 for a car parking ticket in advance and park across the road from the stadium) and there are parking restrictions in force for the local area. Most fans seem to be just heading for the city centre car parks and then embarking on the 15-20 minute walk to the stadium. I did this and parked in an NCP car park, which cost £5. I should point out though, that after the game the roads around the city centre become almost grid locked. It took me over an hour to get away afterwards. Alternatively, on my last visit I noticed a number of fans parking around the Marina area and then taking the ten minute walk to the ground. Parking in this area has the advantage that at the end of the game, you can avoid the city centre gridlock, by heading along the coast on the A3024 and then onto the M271/M27. Steve Ship a visiting Crystal Palace fan also recommends it; 'The Marina is called the Ocean Village which has plenty of parking, but it does charge to park there (we paid £5 for six hours). It is no more than a ten minute walk to the stadium, has a pub on the complex (which had a decent mix of home and away supporters) as well as plenty of food outlets. We left at the final whistle and were back on the M27 within 20 minutes thus avoiding the congested town centre'. Barry Sear suggests 'I parked in Woolston (on the other side of the Itchen Toll Bridge) where there is plenty of street parking, and made the 15-20 minute walk from there to the ground over the Itchen toll Bridge. To get there, you leave the M27 at Junction 8 and follow the A3025 to Woolston. I was back on the M27 within 10 minutes of getting back to the car'. Whilst Colin Peel informs me 'I parked at NCP car park called "Bargate" at the junction of Palmerston Road and Houndwell Place. The cost was a mere £2 for 4 hours and it was only a 10-min stroll to the ground'. Gavin Ellis a visiting Arsenal supporter informs me; 'There is a free park and ride scheme in operation specifically for away supporters. This is situated just off junction 8 of the M27. The traffic in Southampton really made London look provincial, and I'd definitely not recommend people driving into the centre'. John Josephs a visiting Newcastle supporter adds; 'After leaving the motorway at Junction 8 and heading towards Southampton, there are clear AA signs for the Visitors Park and Ride car park which is opposite a big Tesco superstore. Although it says pass holders only, this doesn't apply any more. They were checking match tickets at the entrance. I got there at about six which was two hours before kick-off. There were six buses waiting but hardly any supporters. Once there were enough people to fill half a bus it left. 15 minutes later and we were at the stadium. Afterwards the buses were waiting and although the police stop all cars after the match in a fairly wide area the buses can still leave. Ten minutes later we were back at the car park and within 5 minutes I was on the M27 heading home. The car park is well organised with really friendly stewards and bus supervisors. I can recommend this to anyone.' Other fans have also recommended the park & ride to me, so on my last visit on a Saturday, I thought I would give it a try. I arrived at the Park & Ride at 11.45am to be informed that it didn't run until 1pm and then 'only if we have enough fans to fill the bus'. I didn't fancy hanging around so I left the car park and drove to St Marys instead. However other fans that I spoke to arriving later found the service okay. To go to a simplified page, containing the car and train directions and pub info, which you can print out click here. For a map showing the location of the ground click here (to take you to the Street Map website). |
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| By Train | |
| The stadium
is located around one and a half miles away from Southampton station
(where there is also quite a large car park),
which should take about 30 minutes to walk. There is also a shuttle bus in
operation taking fans from the station to the ground. This operates from
the Blechynden Terrace bus stop outside the station. Turn left out of the station' s southern entrance and walk up Western Esplanade, which becomes Civic Centre Road. Remain on the Civic Centre Road and walk between the Civic Centre and the Marlands Shopping Centre. Eventually a crossroads is reached with the Nationwide Building Society on one corner and Lloyds Bank on another. Cross into New Road and follow this road across a park and past a college. Eventually you will reach a complex road junction with a number of traffic lights. Cross Kings Way into Northam Road and follow this road for quarter of a mile until you reach the ground on your right. There are signs provided by the local council, which direct fans from the station to the ground. Thanks to Scott Lydon, Jeff Manning & David Furnell for providing the directions. You can also walk to the ground from St Denys Station, which is about a 25 minute walk away. This area also has some good pubs. Kay Wilkinson provides the following directions: 'Leave the station on the platform 4 (South Western Arms Pub side) and proceed past the pub, which is on your right hand side and continue on down this road, past the Junction Inn and over the Horseshoe Bridge (this goes over the railway.) Take the next left, Dukes Road and follow this for about 3/4 of mile past various industrial units and round past Mount Pleasant School, which is on your right. At this T junction turn left into Mount Pleasant Road and walk over the railway (tip if the train gates are down use the footbridge - you can sometimes wait here for 20 minutes). You then continue along this road, which changes into Radcliffe Road, past the mosque on your right and this road will take you all the way down to the underpass to the Stadium. This is the most direct route. If you want to visit the Dolphin Pub mentioned above you exit the Station on Platform one side using the bridge across the road and the Dolphin is directly in front of you. To visit the Bevios Castle pub follow the directions into Dukes Road and half way down this road is a right turn, this will take you out into Bevios Valley, turn left and the pub is about 3 minutes walk away on a road junction on the right hand side. To get to St Marys from here you can either walk up the hill following the road continuously, past the hospital and the fire station on your left, when you reach the main road, Northam Road, cross and pass through the bridge to the ground. Alternatively you can walk down the hill and take the first right, Mount Pleasant Road and follow the directions as from St Denys Station above'. |
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| Admission Prices | |
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Home Fans: Concessions apply to Over 60's & Under 20's. |
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| Programme & Fanzine | |
| Official Programme: £3. Beautiful South Fanzine: £1. |
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| Fixtures 2008-2009 | |
| For the Southampton fixture list click here (to take you to the BBC Sports Website). | |
| Local Rivals | |
| Portsmouth. | |
| Disabled Facilities | |
| For details of disabled facilities at the ground please visit the relevant page on the National Association Of Disabled Supporters (NADS) website. | |
| Record & Average Attendance | |
| Record Attendance: 32,151 v Arsenal Premier League, December 29th, 2003. Average Attendance: 2007-2008: 21,254 (Championship League) 2006-2007: 23,556 (Championship League) 2005-2006: 23,614 (Championship League) |
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| Fans Reviews Of St Marys | |
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Morty
(West Brom) 12/8/06 Matthew Carpenter (QPR) 10/9/05 Robin Dalgliesh (Middlesbrough) 17/8/02 Lee Roberts (Doing The 92) 24/10/01 |
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| The Dell | |
| To see some photos of Southampton's previous ground The Dell then click here to take you to the Old Grounds & Stands Section of the Guide. | |
| Hotel Accommodation | |
| If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Football Hotels who are powered by Activehotels, who specialise in locating accommodation near or within a short travelling distance of the football ground. They also have the added advantage over some other hotel booking services that you pay on departure. 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. To access their Southampton page click here. | |
| Feedback | |
| If anything is incorrect or you have something to add,
please e-mail me and I'll update
the guide. |
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