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What's St Andrews
Like?
Future Ground
Developments
Tilton Road & Spion Kop
Stands (photo)
What
Is It Like For Visiting Supporters?
Gil Merrick & Main
Stands (photo)
Where To Drink?
A Closer Look At The Tilton
Road Stand (photo)
How To Get
There And Where To Park
Gil
Merrick Stand (aka Railway End) (photo)
By Train
Birmingham Coach
Station
Spion Kop (photo)
Local Rivals
Admission Prices
Programme & Fanzines
Ground Layout
Fixtures 2012-2013
Disabled
Facilities
Record
& Average Attendance
Fans
Ground Reviews
Hotel Accommodation
St Andrews Location Map
Old St Andrews
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| What's St Andrews
Like? |
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Approximately three quarters
of the ground have been rebuilt since the mid 90's. One large
two-tiered tiered stand, incorporating the Tilton
Road End and Spion Kop, completely surrounds
half the pitch and replaced a former huge terrace.
The new Tilton Road End was opened for the start
of the 1994-95 season, with the new Spion Kop
following in 1995. At the back of the Spion Kop
Stand, which runs along one side of the pitch, are
a row of executive boxes, as well as a central
seated executive area which also incorporates the
Directors 'box'. The other newish stand, the
recently renamed Gil Merrick Stand (previously
known as the Railway End) was opened in February
1999. It is a large two tiered stand and unusual
in having quite a small
top tier, which overhangs the lower area. Again
there is a row of executive boxes in this stand,
housed at the back of the lower section.
Only one 'old' stand, the former Main Stand, which
was opened in 1952, now remains of the former St
Andrews. This is a two tier stand running along
one side of the pitch and has a row of executive
boxes running across its middle. This stand is the
smallest at the stadium and is looking
particularly tired amongst its more modern
neighbours. This stand which is now known as the
Garrison Lane Stand also houses the press area,
television gantry and has the team dugouts located
in front of it. The team dressing rooms are
situated within the Gil Merrick Stand, which
results in the teams entering the field of play
from one corner of the stadium between this stand
and the Garrison Lane Stand. Also in
this area is a large video screen that was erected
at the start of the 2009/10 season.
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Future
Ground Developments
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The Club are still weighing up the options as to the
possibility of a moving to new stadium or
whether to further re-develop St Andrews. If the
latter option was chosen then this would involve
the re-building of the Main Stand. This would
increase the overall capacity of St
Andrews to around 36,500 at a
cost of around £12m.
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| Tilton
Road and Spion Kop Stands |
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| What
Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? |
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Away supporters are housed on one side of
the Gil Merrick Stand, which is at one end of the
stadium in the lower tier. The normal allocation
is 3,000 tickets, but
this can be increased to around 4,500
for cup games (when the
whole of the lower tier is allocated). There are
Birmingham fans housed above the away supporters,
as well as to the other side of the stand (fans
are separated by plastic netting). The facilities
and the view from this stand are pretty good. Pies
are supplied by Peters Pies and include; Chicken
Balti, Steak and Kidney plus Potato and Meat (all
£2.70). Cornish pasties (£2.70), Cheese and Onion
Pasties (£2.70), Burgers (£3.20) and Rollover Hot
Dogs (£3.20) are also available. Alcohol
in form of John Smith's Bitter
or Fosters Lager is also served at £3.40
per pint, as well as Smirnoff Ice (£3.50) and
Wine (£3.60).
John
a visiting Burnley informs me; 'The beer inside
the ground was drinkable and the Balti pies were
delicious! On the downside, the seat I had been
allocated was in Row 21 seat 002 which was right
up against the wall. I've had more legroom on a
package tour flight to the Canaries! What really
annoyed me were a small section of the City fans
who spent the entire game screaming abuse and
gesturing to the away fans'. Jordan Cottrell a
visiting Chelsea fan tells me; 'Away fans were
searched by the stewards prior to entering the
ground. I also noticed that any plastic bottles
were being confiscated.'
Alan Sexton a visiting West Ham supporter adds;
'The ground itself is three quarters of the way
to being a top class stadium but desperately
needs a new Main Stand. If this is built,
joining with the Tilton Road and Railway Stands
then St Andrews will be one of the best if not
the best ground in the Midlands. Atmosphere wise
it was the best ground I have visited all season
for sheer volume before and during the
game. As for the concourses they left
little to be desired and were extremely crowded,
the scrum to try and get a pie was not for the
faint hearted'.
It is worth bearing mind
though, that a certain section of Birmingham
fans are particularly passionate about their
club and this can make for an intimidating
atmosphere for away supporters. I would advise
as a precaution to keep your club colours
covered around the ground or in the city centre.'
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Gil
Merrick and Main Stands
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| Where To Drink? |
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Most of the pubs near to
the ground can be quite intimidating for away
supporters and are not recommended. However there is
the Brighton pub on the Coventry Road which does
tolerate away fans in small numbers. This pub is about
a ten minute walk away, going past Woolworths &
Morrisons on your left. Simon a visiting Chelsea fan
adds; 'On our last visit to St Andrews, we managed to
find a friendly pub within proximity of the ground.
The pub is called The Cricketers Arms and is about 10
minutes walk, maybe less. To find the pub (with your
back to the away section) walk along the road ahead of
you going away from the ground (not the road going
right up by the stadium, but the road going towards
Morrisons). Walk through Morrisons car park heading
towards the store then join the road next to it, which
is called Green Lane. The pub is 30 seconds from there
on the left. The pub itself is shared between home and
away fans but all the Birmingham fans were very
friendly. The pub is small but you can drink outside
where there are beer tables'.
It is best to drink in the
city centre and get a taxi to the ground (about
£6). If you are walking to the ground from the
city centre, then you may care to stop at
the Anchor Pub on Bradford Street, renowned for
its range of real ales on offer, and named
Birmingham 'CAMRA Pub Of The Year' on more than
one occasion. Although there are a number of
Blues fans that frequent the pub they tend to be
of the CAMRA bearded variety and therefore as
long as you don't turn up mobbed handed, you
should be okay. The pub is situated just behind
Birmingham
Coach Station. Otherwise alcohol is served
within the stadium.
If you coming by
train, or decide to drink in the city centre
beforehand, then if you like your real ale, then
you can't do much better than visit the
Wellington Pub on Bennetts Hill. With 16 real
ales on tap, including 12 guest ales, this is
somewhat of a mecca for real ale drinkers. In
2008 alone, the pub served over 2,000 different
beers! To find this pub, then assuming that you
are coming into New Street Station by train,
then as you come onto the passenger concourse at
the station, so straight up the escalators in
front of you. At the top of the escalators turn
left and then proceed towards the 'Foot Locker'
outlet. Turn left at this store and then right
and proceed down the ramp past McDonalds. At the
bottom of the ramp turn left into New Street and
walk along the pedestrian area. Bennetts Hill is
the fourth turning on the right (there is a
Barclays Bank is on the corner). The Wellington
pub is about two thirds of the way up Bennetts
Hill on the right hand side. There is also a
handy Wetherspoons outlet called the Briar Rose
(which is no smoking) on Bennetts Hill as well.
The Wellington does not provide food, but has no
objections to you bringing in your own. There
are a couple of taxi ranks nearby that you can
use if you wish to get you to the
ground. You can get more info on the Wellington pub website ,
including a live 'beer board' showing which ales
they are currently serving.
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A
Closer Look At The Tilton Road Stand
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| How To Get
There And Where To Park |
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Leave the M6 at
Junction 6 and take the A38(M) (known locally as the
Aston Expressway) for Birmingham City Centre.
Continue past the first turn off (Aston, Waterlinks)
and then take the next turn off, for the Inner Ring
Road.
Turn left at the
island at the top of the slip road and take the Ring
Road East, sign posted Coventry/Stratford. Continue
along the ring road for two miles, crossing straight
across three islands. At the fourth island (there is
a large McDonalds on the far left hand corner) turn
left into Coventry Road going towards Small Heath.
Birmingham City's ground is about a 1/4 of a mile up
this road on your left. The ground is well sign
posted on the Inner Ring Road.
There is a small
car park directly outside the entrance to the away
end, but availability of space for cars is
determined by how many away coaches are expected as
they park in the same car park, which may mean for
certain games that there is no space available for
cars at all. There is though plenty of street
parking off the left hand side of the ring road.
Either around the small park at the third island you
cross or along the road next to and behind the BP
garage before the fourth island. Bear in mind that
if you arrive after 1.30pm these areas are likely to
be already full. There are some local schools and
firms that offer parking facilities for around £5.'
Location
map of the St Andrews football ground (at the
bottom of this page).
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Gil Merrick Stand
(aka Railway End)
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| By Train |
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The nearest station is Bordesley, which
is about a ten minute walk away from the ground,
but is only served by trains from Birmingham Snow
Hill and Birmingham Moor
Street. Normally scheduled trains do not stop at
Bordesley, so they don't show up
on national timetables searches. Please
download the local timetable from the London Midland website
for details.
If you arrive at New Street
Station in the city centre, either walk to Moor
Street station (five minutes) take a taxi
(about £6) or embark on the 20-25 minute walk to
the ground.
As you come onto the concourse of New St station,
bear to the left of the escalators and through the
glass doors. Walk down towards to the end of the
Station Service Road. Cross to the other side of
the road at the bottom (where there is a new
shopping centre) turn right and follow the purple
pedestrian signs for Digbeth Coach Station. These
will see you descending a flight of stairs at the
side of the shopping centre on your left and then
going down a road with the Markets on your right
and a large church on your left. Follow this road
around to the right and then take the next left to
take you up to the main dual carriage way. Turn
right along the dual carriageway, passing the
impressive looking Crown Pub on your left. Cross
over the dual carriageway to the Crown pub side of
the road and continue walking away from the City
Centre. You will come to a fork in the road where
you want to bear left going underneath a railway
bridge. Passing the Clements Arms (not recommended
for away fans) on your left just continue straight
down this road, crossing a large roundabout (with
a McDonalds over on one corner). The entrance to
the away section is further up the road on your
left.
Otherwise you can take the following buses from
the city centre; No: 58, 60, 97 & 97A.
However the 97 & 97A drop off on Garrison Lane
(near to Tilton Road) which is on the other side
of the stadium to the away entrance. These can be caught near to Moor
Street Railway Station on Queensway. Look for
bus stops ME (58 & 60) and MF (97 & 97A)
on this map on
the Network West Midlands website (PDF
file). Alternatively they can also be caught
outside Birmingham Coach Station.
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Birmingham Coach
Station
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Birmingham Coach Station
is located just over a mile away from St Andrews and
is about a 20 minute walk away. As you come out of the
main entrance, turn right and proceed along Digbeth
High Street. At the traffic lights cross over onto the
other side and continue along Digbeth High Street. You
will pass the Old Crown pub on your left and then the
handily located Deritend Fish & Chip shop. At the
top of the road, the road forks into two. Take the
left hand fork onto Coventry Road. Pass underneath a
railway bridge (where Bordesley Station is located)
and past the Clements Arms (not recommended for away
fans) on your left. Just continue straight down this road,
crossing a large roundabout (with a McDonalds over
on one corner). The entrance to the away section is
further up the road on your left.
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Spion
Kop photo
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| Local Rivals |
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Aston Villa, West Bromwich
Albion & Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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| Admission Prices For Away
Supporters |
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Like
a number of Clubs, Birmingham City
operate a match category policy (A, B C & D) whereby the
ticket prices cost more for the most popular games.
Home Fans*
Spion Kop Club Class: Adults £40 (B £35) (C £30) (D
£25), Concessions £30 (B £25) (C £20) (D £15)
Spion Kop: Adults £32 (B £28) (C £25) (D
£20), Senior Citizens/Students £20 (B £18)
(C £16) (D £14), Under 18's £13 (B £11) (C £9) (D
£7), Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C £5) (D £5)
Garrison Lane Stand (Upper Centre): Adults £32 (B
£28) (C £25) (D £20), Senior
Citizens/Students £20 (B £18) (C £16) (D £14),
Under 18's £13 (B £11) (C £9) (D £7), Under 13's £7
(B £7) (C £5) (D £5)
Spion Kop
Corner: Adults £30 (B £27) (C £23) (D
£18), Senior Citizens/Students £18 (B
£16) (C £14) (D £12), Under 18's £13 (B
£11) (C £9) (D £7), Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C
£5) (D £5)
Garrison Lane Stand (Upper Wings): Adults £30 (B
£27) (C £23) (D £18), Senior
Citizens/Students £18 (B £16) (C £14) (D
£12), Under 18's £13 (B £11) (C £9) (D
£7), Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C £5) (D £5)
Tilton Road Stand: Adults £30 (B £27) (C
£23) (D £18), Senior
Citizens/Students £18 (B £16) (C £14) (D
£12), Under 18's £13 (B £11) (C £9) (D
£7), Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C £5) (D £5)
Gil Merrick Stand (Lower): Adults £30 (B £27) (C
£23) (D £18), Senior
Citizens/Students £18 (B £16) (C £14) (D
£12), Under 18's £13 (B £11) (C £9) (D
£7), Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C £5) (D £5)
Gil Merrick Stand (Upper): Adults £27 (£B 24),
(C £20) (D £16), Senior
Citizens/Students £16 (B £14) (£12) (D
£10), Under 18's £13 (£8), Under 12's £11 (£6),
Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C £5) (D £5)
Garrison Lane Stand (Lower): Adults £27 (£B 24),
(C £20) (D £16), Senior
Citizens/Students £16 (B £14) (£12) (D
£10), Under 18's £13 (£8), Under 12's £11 (£6),
Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C £5) (D £5)
Family
Area (Lower Gil Merrick): Adults £27 (£B 24), (C
£20) (D £16), Senior
Citizens/Students £16 (B £14) (£12) (D
£10), Under 16's £13 (B £11) (C £9) (D £7),
Under 12's £11 (£6), Under 8's £5 (all
categories), 1 Adult + 1 Child £35 (B £30) (C
£25) (D £20), 2 Adults + 2 Children
£70 (B £60) (C £50) (D £40),
Away
Fans*
Gil Merrick Stand
Lower Tier:
Adults £30 (B £27) (C £23) (D
£18), Senior Citizens/Students £18 (B
£16) (C £14) (D £12), Under 18's £13 (B £11)
(C £9) (D £7), Under 13's £7 (B £7) (C £5) (D
£5)
* Please note that these ticket prices are for
tickets bought in advance prior to matchday. Tickets
purchased on the day of the game can cost up to £5
more per adult ticket and £3 per concession.
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| Programme & Fanzine |
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Official Programme £3
Made In Brum
Fanzine £1
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Ground
Layout
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| Fixtures 2012-2013 |
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Birmingham
City fixture list (takes you to the BBC Sports Website).
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| Disabled
Facilities |
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details of disabled facilities and club contact at the
ground please visit the relevant page on the Level
Playing Field website.
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| Record
& Average Attendance |
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Record Attendance:
66,844 v Everton
FA Cup 5th Round, February 11th, 1939.
Modern All Seated Attendance Record:
29,958 v Chelsea
Premier League, December 26th, 2009.
Average Attendance:
2011-2012: 18,883 (Championship League)
2010-2011: 25,462 (Premier League)
2009-2010: 25,246 (Premier League)
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| Fans
Reviews Of St Andrews |
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Joe White
(Bristol City) 6/11/12
James Butler
(Charlton Athletic) 18/8/12
Michelle-Louise
Burrows
(Blackpool) 9/5/12
Andrew van
den Bent-Kelly (Peterborough
United) 19/11/11
Peter Radford
(Doing the 92) 15/12/09
Lee Jones
(Swansea City) 28/12/08
Scott
Bowman (West Ham United) 18/8/07
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| Hotel
Accommodation |
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If you require hotel
accommodation in the area then first try a hotel
booking service provided by Late Rooms. They offer all
types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets
from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast
establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced
Apartments. Plus their booking system is
straightforward and easy to use. Yes this site will
earn a small commission if you book through them, but
it will go to help with the running costs of keeping
the Guide going. The Hotels listing also includes
details of how far away the accommodation is located
from the St Andrews football ground.
Access
their Birmingham
Hotels and Guest Houses page.
Remember that you can use the above link or panel
below to book any other hotels that you may need
for business or leisure, either in the UK or
abroad.
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Map showing the location of the St
Andrews football ground, railway stations and
listed pubs
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Instructions for using the map:
- Use the bar
on the left of the map to zoom in / out using the
+ / - keys.
- Click and
drag an area of the map to move around or use the
up/down, left/right arrows
- Click the
Satellite button to see aerial view photograph.
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| Old St Andrews |
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| To see photos of St Andrews shortly
prior to its redevelopment then visit the Old
Grounds and Stands Section of the Guide.
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| Feedback |
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If
anything is incorrect or you have something to add,
please e-mail me duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide.
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