Southampton - St Mary's Stadium

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Southampton Football Club is an English professional football club based in Southampton, Hampshire, which plays in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. One of the founding members of the Premier League, they have spent the majority of their history in the top flight since their first promotion to it in 1966; their longest continuous period was for 27 seasons between 1978 and 2005. Their home ground since 2001 has been St Mary's Stadium, prior to which they were based at The Dell. The club has been nicknamed "The Saints" since its inception in 1885 due to its history as a church football team, founded as St. Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association, and play in red and white shirts. St Mary's Stadium is an all-seater football stadium and has a capacity of 32,384. It is currently the largest football stadium outside London in Southern England. The stadium is a complete bowl, with all stands of equal height. There are two large screens at either end that can be seen from any seat. The stadium has four stands, which are named after the areas of Southampton they face. The main (east) stand is the Itchen Stand, and faces the River Itchen. The opposite stand is called the Kingsland Stand. Behind the south goal is the Chapel Stand, and to the north is the Northam Stand. At the rear of the Chapel, Kingsland and Northam Stands, there is a continuous, translucent 'panel' that is designed to allow light to access the pitch. A large section of the roof at the Chapel Stand, at the southern end of the stadium is also translucent, for the same reason. At the rear of the Itchen Stand, there are 42 executive boxes, and a police control room. The stand also houses the club's offices, changing rooms, press facilities and corporate hospitality suites. The official ground name at opening was 'The Friends Provident St Mary's Stadium'. Initially the club wanted the ground to be named purely after the sponsors, but fan pressure influenced the decision to include a non-commercial title. In 2006 the new sponsor Flybe.com did not choose to purchase the naming rights to the stadium, meaning it reverted to the name 'St Mary's Stadium'. (WIKIPEDIA) A full color printed model of the stadium can be requested via email to SWIFTLANDREPLICAS@OUTLOOK.COM