Stadium

History of St Mary’s Stadium

St Mary’s Stadium has been the home ground of Southampton Football Club since 2001. The Saints chose to leave their long-time home of The Dell after outgrowing the famous old venue.

Southampton had called The Dell their home ever since 1898 but accepted that a new stadium was the right option. So, the south coast side invested around £32m to construct St Mary’s Stadium, at a cost of around £1,000 a seat.

Work to build St Mary’s eventually broke ground in December 1999 following a dispute with the local council regarding where Southampton could build their new stadium. Ultimately, a site near the River Itchen was agreed to be a fitting venue for the new ground with it close to public transport links.

Southampton also named their new stadium after the church close to where members of the St Mary’s Church Young Men’s Association helped form the club back in November 1885.

St Mary’s is an enclosed all-seater arena and has four stands, consisting of the Itchen Stand as the main stand plus the Kingsland Stand, Chapel Stand and Northam Stand.

St Mary’s hosted its first match between Southampton and Spanish charges Espanyol on August 1, 2001.

What happened to Southampton’s old stadium The Dell?

The Dell was Southampton’s home stadium from 1898 until their move to St Mary’s at the start of the 21st century. It was redeveloped on four occasions and became a 15,000 all-seater ground in 1993 – the smallest in the Premier League at the time – after the Taylor Report was published.

But the club’s plans to demolish The Dell and move to a new stadium were rubber-stamped during the 1998/99 season after Southampton decided it was time for a change.

Southampton’s last game at The Dell was played against Brighton & Hove Albion in a pre-season friendly they won 1-0 in May 2001, with Uwe Rosler scoring the only goal of the clash.

After the game, Southampton’s fans flooded onto the pitch to grab parts of the stadium’s grass as well as even taking home its seats. The Dell was then completely demolished in July 2001 and flats were built on the site soon after. The Saints’ new era at St Mary’s kicked off the following month.

How to get to St Mary’s Stadium

St Mary’s Stadium is situated on the west side of the River Itchen, which flows through the heart of Southampton, and getting to the ground is straightforward via numerous modes of transport.

If fans are travelling to St Mary’s by train, the station to disembark at is Southampton Central Railway Station. It is then a direct walk of around 1.3 miles, lasting around 30 minutes, to the ground.

Alternatively, a shuttle service runs from the south side of the train station (Platform 4 / Western Esplanade side) and drops fans off at Britannia Road. Supporters can also use Southampton’s city bus routes to travel to St Mary’s Stadium.

If getting to the ground by bike or motorbike, Southampton also provide free parking facilities at St Mary’s Stadium which can be found at the North Car Park

Stadium tours

Southampton fans can embark on an access-all-areas journey through St Mary’s by booking a stadium tour to explore exclusive areas not typically accessible to supporters on matchdays.

Supporters will be able to see the players’ changing rooms and walk through the tunnel. Additionally, they can marvel at the Southampton trophy cabinet, all while absorbing the history of the club with the help of expert guides.

St Mary’s Stadium tours are offered to fans on selected non-matchday weekends and specific school holiday dates and can be booked via Southampton’s official website.

Address

Address: St Mary’s Stadium, Britannia Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 5FP