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Southampton first took residence at St Mary’s in the Summer of 2001, with the first match held against RCD Espanyol in a thoroughly entertaining friendly which ended 4-3 to the visitors. The inaugural season saw former Coventry City manager Gordon Strachan guide the Saints to an 11th placed finish in the Premier League, and the season after they made an appearance at the Millennium Stadium in the FA Cup against Arsenal. Built between December 1999 and July 2001 at a cost of £35 million, it would have been hard to imagine the same levels of success had the club remained at their old ground, The Dell. Dating back to the late 19th century, the Saints had previously played at the ground for over 100 years and is was sadly beyond renovation at this point. At the time of closing in 2001, the ground’s capacity was only 15,000 after the publication of the Taylor Report, and the move to St Mary’s Stadium one and a half miles away instantly doubled this number. It also greatly increased the amount of matchday revenue that the club could make per season. Constructed on a plot land close to St Mary’s Church who formed the first incarnation of the club, many fans regarded the relocation as a spiritual move home. With the exception of the Itchen Stand, the stadium is designed to be expanded in the future with the addition of a second tier estimated to increase the capacity to 50,000. Lastly, a local legend suggests that some Portsmouth fans mischievously buried their team’s shirt under the Northam Stand. Whilst we can’t confirm or deny the reports, common sense would suggest that due to the frequency of such stories they should probably be disregarded!

St Mary’s is approximately 1.5 miles east of Southampton’s main railway station resulting in a walk of around 30 minutes in length.

If you’re into pub crawling and real ale, then some fans recommend walking to the ground from the lesser known St Deny’s station which passes several pubs en route such as The South Western Arms and The Junction (pub).

Outside of Southampton central railway station there are a few bus services such as the 8A or 18 which will take you to the stadium for a few quid, saving you the walk.

Southampton Airport is located 3.5 miles away from the city centre and 4.1 miles away from St Mary’s stadium. This makes travelling quite convenient at less than 15 minutes should you ever need to fly in or if the club has any big European fixtures!