England
St. Mary's Stadium
St. Mary's Stadium is the home of Southampton FC in the city of Southampton. It has a capacity of 32 000, making it the largest stadium in the south of England, outside of London.
After a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to build a new 25 000 capacity 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. The move was cited as the club returning home, due to the fact that the club was formed by members of the nearby St. Mary's Church.
Construction started in December 1999 and was completed at the end of July 2001. Southampton FC, also known as the Saints, have been in residence since August 2001, when they moved from the old stadium, which held just over 15 000 spectators.
