Travelling Jacks – Southampton

Address: The St Mary’s Stadium, Britannia Road, Southampton, SO14 5FP
Telephone: 0845 688 9448
Web Site: www.saintsfc.co.uk

What’s St Mary’s Stadium Like?

The away end was moved prior to the start of the 2024-2025 season, as the club decided that they wanted the Northam Stand to be home-fan-only as it is traditionally the loudest part of the stadium.

The new away end is in the Chapel/Kingsland corner, and has a capacity of 3,000 fans and part of the stand has safe-standing rails installed.

The away turnstiles and ticket office are located on the South side of the stadium between the Chapel and Kingsland stands.Visiting supporters can use turnstile E to access the away stand and the accessible entrance & Ticket Office are also located in that area.

When attending the match fans are advised to enter the stadium via Melbourne Street, leaving the stadium will be via Melbourne Street only.

The view from the away end is very good with no obstructing pillars, while the concourse is as spacious as you would expect from a relatively new stadium.

Food and drinks are served to away fans inside the away end before kick-off and also at half-time.

Visiting Southampton

I’ve spent quite a few weekends in Southampton and it’s a pretty good night out. It has loads of traditional pubs, large city centre bars and clubs. There are many chain restaurants and independent ones from many different ethnic backgrounds means that pretty much any palate will be satisfied.

Hotels in the city centre include Ibis, Novotel, Holiday Inn, Mercure and many more chain and independent hotels and bed and breakfasts.

Here are the nearest budget hotels to St Mary’s Stadium:

Premier Inn Southampton City Centre – 0.6 miles from stadium

Travelodge Southampton Central – 1 mile from stadium

Premier Inn Southampton City Centre West Quay – 1.2 miles from stadium

Travelodge Southampton – 1.3 miles from stadium.

If you are looking to things to so then Leisure World on West Quay Road (SO15 1RE) is a multi-purpose entertainment centre with a multi screen cinema, a casino, bars and restaurants.

You can get a day-trip as foot passengers to the Isle of Wight on the ferry from £14.40 return, £7.20 for kids, with under 5’s travel for free. Departures are from Lymington.

The city has theatres, galleries and museums, plus lots of music and comedy venues. The parks make Southampton the greenest city in Southern England and Southampton Common has over 300 acres of flora and fauna to enjoy.

Southampton’s Old Town is just south of the city centre. Famous residents and visitors including William The Conqueror, Henry V, William Shakespeare, the Pilgrim Fathers, Isaac Watts and Jane Austen, among many others.

Originally built as the main gateway to the medieval city, the 800 year old Bargate stands as a prestigious entrance to the Old Town where you’ll find the third longest stretch of unbroken medieval defensive walling in England. Eleven pairs of plaques have been laid from the Bargate down to the waterside, marking key events in the city’s history. The plaques mark key moments, from the early Roman settlement, to the opening of the National Oceanography Centre.

Eating and Drinking near St Mary’s Stadium

Yates on Above Bar Street (SO14 7FH) is on the way from central station. For better ale pubs, park in St Denys, try a few pubs and walk along the boardwalk by the river to the stadium. The city centre has plenty of pubs to choose from, ‘The Prince of Wales’ (SO14 0QF) and ‘The Rockstone’ (SO14 0JL) are two.

Sadler’s Brewhouse & Barbecue (SO15 2AJ) has dozens of beers from its brewery in the West Midlands, and serves American BBQ food and an easy 20 minute walk to the ground. Ocean Village (SO14 3TJ) also has a lot of friendly drinking holes.

There’s a good mix of home and away fans in the Wetherspoons ‘The Standing Order’ (SO14 2DF) in the city centre, but sometimes only allow home fans in. The stadium is a good 20 minute walk away.

A small pub, the ‘Chapel Arms’ (SO14 5GB), is a 5 minute walk from the stadium. Although mainly a ‘home’ pub you’ll be OK if you arrive early or have colours covered. To find it, go to the corner of the stadium that has the Saints Superstore on it and walk towards the city centre along the road that runs beside the river, the pub on your right.

‘The Joshua Tree’ (SO14 5QN) is a 5-10 minute walk from the ground. Good for both home and away fans and is one of the closest to the away coaches in Britannia Road on the local industrial estate.

A pub that’s reopened is ‘The King Alfred’ (SO14 0PD). Its a few minutes walk from the stadium, go towards the railway line to the right of the away end, and go over the railway bridge, it’s a minute’s walk away to your left. It has shows Sky Sports and has a BBQ on matchdays.

Parking near St Mary’s Stadium

There’s basically no parking at the stadium for away fans and parking restrictions close by. Most fans head for the city centre car parks and walk 15-20 minutes to the stadium. The NCP city centre car park is £5.

However, you can also choose from a selection of private car parking spaces, including a few reservable parking spaces near St Marys stadium from around £5.10 for the whole day.

After the game, roads around the city centre are grid locked, taking an hour to get away. Alternatively, park around the Marina area (Ocean Village) – £5 for 6 hours and walk 10 minute to the ground. It’s good at the end of the game as you avoid the city centre gridlock by going along the coast on the A3024 onto the M271/M27.

Trains to Southampton

The stadium is 1.5 miles from Southampton station (large car parks there), and takes 30 minutes to walk. There are signs to direct fans to the ground. A shuttle bus goes from Blechynden Terrace bus stop outside the station.

Given that the festive period and the tendency for trains to be called at short notice, we wouldn’t recommend travelling to Coventry by train.

If you’re planning on going to watch the game, why not have a browse of the Southampton v Swansea City Head to Head Statistics, when the sides have met on the south coast.

For the Travelling Jacks making the trip – Be Loud, Be Proud and Be Positive!