St Mary's Stadium

St Mary’s Stadium stands in the centre of Southampton beside the River Itchen. It is a four-sided bowl of equal-height stands built on a former gasworks site about one and a half miles from the club’s old ground, The Dell. The stadium opened in July 2001 after a £32 million build and replaced The Dell, which had held just over 15,000 seats. The new ground was the first in South East England to seat more than 32,000 people. It was also the first English stadium to be used for UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 group matches. The stadium’s bowl shape and translucent roof panels allow daylight to reach the pitch from every angle. The stadium’s four stands take their names from local areas: Itchen, Kingsland, Chapel and Northam. The Itchen Stand faces the river and houses the club offices, dressing rooms and four hospitality suites named after Saints legends Terry Paine, Mick Channon, Bobby Stokes and Matt Le Tissier. The Northam Stand is the traditional home of the loudest supporters and now includes safe standing. Visiting fans sit in a corner of the Kingsland and Chapel Stands, with up to 4,250 seats available for cup ties. The first competitive hat-trick at the ground was scored by Stafford Browne in the 2002 Hampshire Senior Cup final. Visitors enter through the Itchen Stand concourse where a life-size statue of Ted Bates once stood before being replaced. The stadium has two giant screens at either end and the roof over the Chapel Stand is partly transparent to let light through. The record attendance of 32,363 came for a Championship match against Coventry City in 2012. The ground has hosted England senior and under-21 internationals, UEFA Cup and Europa League games, and England’s women’s team now plays there. Behind the stands the translucent panels continue, giving the bowl an open feel even when the roof is closed.