Southampton Football Club - St. Mary's Stadium

St. Mary's Stadium, Britannia Road, Southampton, Hampshire, England, SO14 5FP

Enquiries:

0870-2200 000

Fax:

02380-330360

Official Website:

www.saintsfc.co.uk

Nick Name:

The Saints

Our Impressions of St. Mary's Stadium

The Friends Provident St Mary's stadium was opened in 2001-2002 season, cost ?32 million to construct, and offers excellent views, comfort, safety and spectator facilities. It should also be noted, that a strict No-Smoking policy exists, with smokers limited to the concourses only. The capacity is 32,000, which are all seated.

There are two large screens above each goal, and these can be seen from most seats within the stadium. As at White Hart Lane, and many other grounds, these offer advertisements, Saints features before the match, and highlights and scores at half time and at full time. The 3,500 square foot megastore is located in the South East corner of the stadium, and is usually open from 9.00am - 5.00pm, and remains open on match days until 1 hour after final whistle. When you get inside the ground, it is a real treat. It has to be said that the staff are very friendly and accommodating - a credit to the club. There is a HUGE foyer area where you can mingle before the game, and a slick and tidy catering operation, one of the best that I have seen.

Once you have digested your fayre, then take your seat. And it's a bloody fantastic view! Reminiscent of The Riverside Stadium, you can see everything that goes on, without anything obstructing your view. There is also decent legroom, so you will not have to suffer economy class syndrome for the 90 minutes. The crowd towards the front of the Northam stand tend to sit down, whilst the rest stand towards the back stewards don't seem to mind, but they don't really like any of the gangways being blocked, reasonable to expect, and shows that they are doing their job. Also there is a No Smoking policy in the stand, which is a good thing if you would rather not smell like an ashtray when you leave. Home crowd, like most clubs these days, is rather quiet, with the majority of banter coming from those home supporters in the Northam Stand.

There are pockets of support elsewhere, but these can be very quiet at times. Big TV screens, a la White Hart Lane, provide entertainment, and are perched on the top of the stands, and if you can't see the action at the far end of the pitch, then this is a bit of a God send. What a great place to go as away support.

Well done Southampton. A blueprint for clubs wanting to get a new ground, this is how it should be done.

Directions to St. Mary's Stadium

By Bus

All tickets include FREE match day travel vouchers for use on scheduled buses within the First Southampton Zone [6. This zone basically covers central Southampton, and each ticket contains a voucher that covers travel to and from the ground. Vouchers are valid on both Solent Blue Line and First Bus services. Check out www.solentblueline.com for bus timetable etc

By Rail

From the Southampton Central Station to the ground is approx. a 25 minute walk. There is also a shuttle bus service running to the stadium from the station. The shuttle service operates from the Blechynden Terrace bus stop outside the station. Fans using this service will be required to show the bus driver their match or season ticket. There are several local line stations that are in close proximity [with 15 minutes of the ground. These include Bitterne, Woolston and St Denys. These stations are much less crowded, and offer a less stressful route to the stadium. To walk to the stadium from the station follow the directions below… Exit the station on the Down/Docks side, turn left and walk up Civic Centre Hill (you should have Toys R Us on right hand side). At the top of hill keep straight on (Civic Centre on left and Marlands Shopping Centre on right). Continue straight over the next two set of traffic lights, passing the Southampton Institute is on left. By the Southampton Institute there is an underpass. Use this underpass to cross the main road, and come up by Bridge Gallery, and cross the road into Northam Road. Continue along Northam Road, past several antique shops, until you reach Victoria public house. Here, there is a new footbridge which will lead to Gas Works end of St Mary's Stadium.

Local Area around St. Mary's Stadium

Car Parking

The car parking surrounding St. Marys is offered by the club at an additional cost, and most has been allocated to season tickets. The remaining tickets are available on a per match basis, and can be purchased with your tickets [call 087-0777-1000 for further info. There are two different categories (thoughtfully named 1 & 2!). There are 1500 category 1 spaces, which are within 10 minutes of the ground, and 1200 category 2 spaces, which are said to be 'less than 20 minutes away'.

There is also additional car parks in West Park Road, Bond Street, Charlotte Place, Lime Street, Grosvenor Square and Eastgate. It should be noted, that on street parking is VERY restricted, with a residents? parking scheme in place. We advise that if you have not pre booked a car parking space, then keep away from the immediate vicinity of the ground, and catch a bus from the town centre. Park And Ride The club offers a park & ride scheme. The time & use of this service are limited though, as it's only available on a Saturday, and the park and ride pass's need to be pre-booked [087-0777-1000! The park & ride picks up from the University and Ordnance Survey sites.

Disabled Facilities at St. Mary's Stadium

Obviously, as a new stadium, the facilities for disabled fans are excellent, and offer wheelchair access to all areas. There are approx. 100 pitch side spaces available for wheelchair supporters and their helpers and these can be booked on a match by match basis [contact the disabled co-ordinator for further info 023 8072 7777]

Pubs Near St. Mary's Stadium

The Chapel Arms

The Chapel Arms was once called the Le tissier Arms, and is approx 10 mins walk from the ground. It a large pub, and normally contains mainly home supporters, so not for the faint hearted away fan as it can get quite noisy!! The pub shows live football games on a large screen TV, and has a barbecue and outside bar for the warmer months.

The Station Hotel

This pub is located at the junction of Bullar Road and Athelstan Road, near the train station (...you would never guess from the name would you!), and is approx one mile from the ground. There is a good range of beers & food available all day, and Sky Sports on the telly.

Royal Oak

You can get to this pub if you turn right out of east street and keep walking about 100 yards. approx 10 mins walk from the ground. a good range of beers available, with sky sports. friendly, though can get quite noisy!!

Yates's

Approx 1 mile walk from the ground. situated on the high street, friendly with a good range of beers avavilable.

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