What AI thinks Southampton FC stadium St Mary's will look like in the year 2050 | OneFootball

Southampton moved into St Mary's 24 years ago, but what will it look like in 25 years? FLW has asked AI what it might look like by 2050.

Having moved into St Mary's Stadium in 2001, Southampton have now been in their new home for almost a quarter of a century, so we've asked AI what it might look like in another 25 years' time.

When Southampton moved to St Mary's Stadium in 2001, the move was trailed as the club returning home because it was close to the St Mary's church from which the club had taken its nickname.

But there were solid, practical moves for the move too. The Dell, which had been their home since 1898, was too hemmed in to be viable in the Premier League era. The post-Hillsborough Taylor Report recommended all-seater stadia, and this cut its capacity to 15,200. Staying in the Premier League became an annual fight against the odds.

Building work on the new stadium, on the banks of the River Itchen, in 1999, and was completed in July 2001 at a cost of £32 million with a capacity of 32,384.

ChatGPT puts St Mary's at the heart of its community by 2050

Football League World has asked ChatGPT what it thinks St Mary's Stadium will look like by 2050, and its answer puts the stadium at the heart of its community.

This assessment is based on already existing plans between Southampton City Council and the club itself. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two at the end of 2024 to develop land around St Mary’s Waterfront, with an expansion of the stadium also on the cards.

The intention is to integrate the stadium into a broader community hub, with enhanced public transport, "a mixed and balanced community that includes commercial, leisure, residential, and accessible public spaces that enhance the quality of life for local people and attract new visitors and investment", and an emphasis placed on sustainability and improved public transport links. Southampton City Council have a Green City Plan, and future stadium developments will have to align with that.

Growing crowds and fan experience will be crucial to Southampton's future

There is no indication given of what size St Mary's may expand to, but what we can say with a degree of certainty is that it will become necessary.

St Mary's has more than twice the capacity of The Dell, but Southampton have done an impressive job of getting crowds to fill it, despite fluctuating performances in the League in recent years.

Figures from Transfermarkt

Increasing revenues will be critical to Southampton, if they want to get back to a position of being competitive in the Premier League, and diversifying revenue streams can be beneficial to any business. Increasing the capacity of St Mary's would pay for itself in the medium-to-long term through increased season ticket sales, while potentially increasing the playing budget, whether for transfer fees or wages.

The spectator experience is also only likely to become more important in the future. Safe standing was introduced in April 2024, while technological advances may allow for such innovations as facial recognition to gain admission, while fan zones will also enhance the match-day experience.

Although only 24 years old, plans have already started to move forward to renovate St Mary's and its surroundings. Such efforts can only help Southampton grow further, having already doubled their attendances from those days at The Dell.