How Southampton feel about expanding St Mary's | OneFootball

Southampton have been competing in St. Mary's since 2001

Southampton are competing for promotion back to the Premier League this season under Tonda Eckert.

The 33-year-old took charge in November as an interim replacement to Will Still, but a positive run of form led to him becoming a permanent appointment.

The Saints suffered relegation to the Championship in the previous campaign, and are seeking an immediate return to the top flight.

But the Hampshire outfit are currently outside the play-off places, sitting four points adrift of sixth place Wrexham.

Southampton face competition from the likes of Bristol City, Watford and Derby County in the battle to break into the top six.

Eckert’s side are unbeaten in their last eight league games, winning on six occasions, which has brought them back into promotion contention.

Southampton’s stadium plans

The minutes have been released from Southampton’s most recent Fans Advisory Board meeting in which the club laid out their plans to renew and repair St. Mary’s.

According to the Daily Echo, the club’s COO Jonathon Clarke has opened up on their plans for the home ground.

Southampton can currently host up to roughly 32,000 supporters in the stadium, which has been the home of the Saints since 2001.

The executive has reportedly said that the Championship side are currently prioritising these repairs before making any potential additions to the stadium.

But it could yet take some time before these repairs to be made as there are a number of events set to be held at St. Mary’s this summer, which will limit the amount of work that can be done during the off-season.

Clarke also confirmed that the handrails that were recently installed in the stadium will not be expanded to include the whole ground due to some safety concerns.

St. Mary’s is the sixth-biggest stadium in the Championship this season, putting it behind Hillsborough, the Riverside, Pride Park, Bramall Lane and the CBS Arena.

Southampton are currently seventh in the second division table, four points adrift of sixth-place Wrexham with just 11 games remaining.

However, Eckert’s side will not be in league action this weekend as they will travel to face Fulham in the fifth round of the FA Cup on 8 March in a 12pm kick-off.

The Hampshire outfit will return to their pursuit of a play-off place on 11 March with a trip to the Hawthorns to take on relegation-threatened West Brom.

St. Mary’s expansion would be a promising next step for Southampton

It looks like expansion of St. Mary’s is still quite a way away just now, but it would be a promising step forward for the club.

The ground was regularly hosting Premier League football prior to their relegation in 2023, and tickets were always in great demand during their decade in the top flight.

The support would surely be there if the Saints were able to increase capacity, but the club will still have to weigh up that benefit versus the cost of the development.

Getting work done on repairs and such over the next few months would go towards being able to develop the stadium’s infrastructure, which is a positive step.