St. Andrews (home of the gods!) (St. Andrews Stadium (Birmingham City FC))

Member Name: wokthewhale

Product:	St. Andrews Stadium (Birmingham City FC)
Date:	22/08/01 (755 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: BLUES play there, almost allways can get a seat.

Disadvantages: difficult to get in without a season ticket for very important matches unless you been to previous few)

Well what can I say, St. Andrews has such emotional memories. Losing in the playoff semi finals to Watford on penalties, beating Ipswich 4-2 to go through to the final of the Worthington Cup and of course some older ones before my time. The Tilton Road Stand is connected to the Kop stand. This was the first part done in the re-development if St. Andrews'. They now seat 16,968 home fans. These are the stands on the far side of the picture at the top with the white roof. It also has 23 exicutive boxes and has the best atmosphere in the ground.

The picture at the top is out of date as a brand new stand, The Railway Stand, is on the bottom left of the picture. This holds 8,000 as opposed to the 3,000 it used to hold however it seats approximatly 3,000 away fans. The top section of this stand (The Olympic Gallery) holds 1,500 and has amazing views. You can get the best view of the match from here however due to the distance from the pitch, there isnt a very good atmosphere up here. The brand new dressing rooms are situated here in the Railway Stand also aswell as 16 exicutive boxes.

The Main Stand is the oldest stand at St. Andrews' and is in major need of re-development.It holds 4,977 people and had facilities such as the commontary box and the PA system controls aswell as the safty Officer and ambulances. There is also the Trevor Francis suite there and the Gil Merrick Bar.

Overall
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I'd recomend sitting in either the KOP or the TILTON road stands. These have the best atmosphere and if your not there for the atmosphere, you might aswell listen to it on the radio or the TV. St. Andrews' is in my oppinion one of the best grounds in the first division and is definitley not going to be one of the worst in teh premiership. The England U-21's played there onlya few months ago. THe parking is good as there is LOTS of space both in the car park and on the roads just outside. DEFINITLY worth a visit. Overall it holds
30,016 people and when the Main Stands done, it'll be over 35,000. GREAT STADIUM!

HOW TO GET THERE
================From M6:

Get off the M6 at Junction 6 and take the A38M for Birmingham City Centre.

Get off at the second junction - If you then glance at the signpost as you approach the island, you'll see directions to St Andrew's off to the left.

When you get near the ground, I'd advise you to find some side-street parking and take any sign of your club colours out of your car!
From M40/M42:

Your best bet is to head into Brum on the A34 off the M42.

Follow this for about 5-6 miles until you reach a large island with a DFS on the left as you approach it.

Turning right here will take you down towards the ground, but parking is difficult. I'd suggest you carry straight on over the island, and then turn left at the first traffic lights.

This is Bradford Street and you'll come across a zebra crossing with a Pub on the right (the Adam and Eve).

Many Bluenoses drink here before the game - If you turn right and then a quick left at the Pub, you can usually find parking in the side streets.

Once again, I'd advise you to remove any valuables and indications of your club out of view!

St Andrew's is a good 10-15 minute walk from here (North-East past Bordesley station) - follow the Blues fans and you'll end up at the right end for away fans.

BY TRAIN:
Get the Train to Birmingham New Street Station.

Don't bother with the train from there - get a taxi or follow the Bus instructions below.

BUS:
There are several Buses you can catch to St Andrew's from Birmingham City Centre.

For the latest Bus route information go to http://www.travelwm.co.uk/

Look for the 57, 58, 60, 96 & 97 Buses on the Bus Route map on the above Website.

Summary: