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St. Mary's Stadium
St. Mary's Stadium
UEFA Gold Star 2 Gold Star 2 Gold Star 2 Gold Star 2
Full name Saint Mary's Stadium
Owners Southampton Football Club
Location Southampton, England
Broke ground 2000
Opened August 2001
Tenants Southampton F.C. (2001–present)
Southampton Women (2022–)
Capacity 32.689
Field dimensions 105 x 68 metres
(115 x 74 yards)

St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, England, has been the home stadium of EFL Championship club, Southampton FC since 2001. The stadium has a capacity of 32,505 and is currently the largest football stadium in South East England.

History[]

Since the 1980s, when Southampton regularly challenged the best sides in the English league (particularly in 1984 when they were league runners-up), there had been talk of the club relocating to a new stadium to replace The Dell due to the old stadium's cramped location which made it unsuitable for major expansion work.

When the Taylor Report on 29 January 1990 required all First and Second Division clubs to have all-seater stadiums by August 1994, Southampton's directors initially decided to upgrade The Dell into an all-seater stadium (which was completed in 1993) but speculation about relocation continued, especially as an all-seater Dell had a capacity of just over 15,000; despite this, Southampton continued to defy the odds and survive in the new FA Premier League after 1992.

After a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to build a new 25,000 seater stadium and leisure complex at Stoneham, on the outskirts of Southampton, the city council offered the club the chance to build a new ground on the disused gas work site in the heart of the city, about one and half miles from The Dell.

The move was cited as the club returning home, because the club was formed by members of the nearby St. Mary's Church, as the football team of St. Mary's Church Young Men's Association before becoming Southampton St. Mary's F.C., and eventually Southampton F.C.

Construction started in December 1999 and was completed at the end of July 2001, with work on the stadium itself and improvements to local infrastructure cost a total of £32 million.

The Saints have been in residence since August 2001 when they moved from The Dell, which for the final years of its life, held just over 15,000 spectators – less than half the size of the new stadium. The first match was played on 1 August 2001 against RCD Espanyol, with the Spanish side winning 4–3.

The first competitive hat trick at the stadium was scored by Stafford Browne for Aldershot Town in a 3–1 victory over Havant & Waterlooville in the Hampshire Senior Cup final on 1 May 2002.

External links[]

Southampton FC
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2024–25 Premier League stadiums

Anfield · Brentford Community Stadium · City of Manchester Stadium · City Ground · Craven Cottage · Dean Court · Emirates Stadium · Falmer Stadium · Goodison Park · King Power Stadium · London Stadium · Molineux · Old Trafford · Portman Road · St James' Park · St. Mary's Stadium · Selhurst Park · Stamford Bridge · Tottenham Hotspur Stadium · Villa Park

Former

bet365 Stadium · Bloomfield Road · Bramall Lane · Boundary Park · Cardiff City Stadium · Carrow Road · County Ground · DW Stadium · Elland Road · Ewood Park · Fratton Park · The Hawthorns · Hillsborough Stadium · Kenilworth Road · Kirklees Stadium · Loftus Road · Madejski Stadium · MKM Stadium · Oakwell · Pride Park · Riverside Stadium · Stadium of Light · St Andrew's · Swansea.com Stadium · Toughsheet Community Stadium · The Valley · Turf Moor · Valley Parade · Vicarage Road · Wembley Stadium

Demolished
Ayresome Park · Baseball Ground · Boleyn Ground · Burnden Park · The Dell · Filbert Street · Highbury · Highfield Road · Maine Road · Roker Park · White Hart Lane
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