St Andrew’s Stadium – Birmingham City

This ground guide is based on two visits I have made to St Andrew’s during the 2021/22 season to see Birmingham City play Manchester City and Leicester City. Things of course might be different from this if you decide to go there to watch Birmingham play a match there.

Location and ground history

St Andrew’s Stadium is about a mile and a half east of Birmingham city centre, set on a slight hill and you can see the ground if you are coming in by train from the east. The ground opened in 1906 and has been home of Birmingham City since then. Three sides of the ground were rebuilt during the 1990s with the main stand being the oldest part left having been built in the 1950s. Coventry City shared the ground between 2019 and 2021. Birmingham’s women’s side started playing permanently at St Andrew’s in 2021 having previously played at Solihull Moors ground.

Getting there

Birmingham New Street and Moor Street stations are both about a 30/45 minute walk from the ground. Birmingham is well served from trains from most parts of the country. Bordesley station is closer to the ground but is only served by one train a week on a Saturday afternoon! Bus numbers 17 and 60 go along Coventry Road (St Andrews Stadium stop) whilst the 97 bus goes along Garrison Lane (Tilton Road stop) which is closer to the main stand. Car parking is available at the ground and is free (according to the steward who I asked).

Tickets

I bought my tickets online and had to register with the club before buying. You can choose where you want to sit and get the option of having the ticket posted 1^st class (£1) or sent as a digital ticket (55p) which you can then download into Google Pay or Apple Wallet. There is also a £1 booking fee applied for all tickets bought online. Tickets can be bought (if available) on matchdays from the main stand ticket office which was open from two hours before kick off for the matches I went to. These cost the same basic price as if bought beforehand.

Link tickets- Event Tickets List – Online ticket office (eticketing.co.uk)

The Stadium

The ground is all-seated and fully covered and has a capacity of 29,409. The Railway Stand (Gil Merrick Stand) is at two tired stand at one end and the players come out from either end of this in the corners of the ground. The Kop Stand and Tilton Road Stand form a continuous L shaped stand along one side and behind the other end. The only stand that has been open when I have been there has been the Main Stand which is two tired with a line of boxes between them. I have sat in the bottom section both times (the Paddocks) but the upper section has been open too. For the Leicester match, the west end of this stand was for away fans. The media area and tv gantry are also in this stand. There is a scoreboard between the Main and Gil Merrick Stands. Between the Main and Tilton Road stands there is Arthur’s Area, an area that remembers murdered six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes. The turnstiles are at either end of the Main Stand and there was a bag and body search before going in. Men’s toilets are at the top of the steps as you go into the Paddocks seated area and the women’s are to the right as you go in. A few words of warning! Some of the seats are actually slightly below pitch level and views of the pitch can be obstructed by subs warming up, ball boys/girls and the dugouts, a low sun can get in your eyes and there were drops of water coming down from the roof of the stand onto the seats when I was at the Leicester game.

Food & Drink

There is a food kiosk just inside the turnstiles. It is in a quite cramped area so can get busy. Alcohol can be bought from here but has to be drank inside and not taken out to the seats. It is card only payment for food and drinks inside the ground. The Ultimo GG eSports bar (at the back of the Main Stand) was also open from two hours before kick off for home fans only (had to show ticket before being allowed in). In the retail park over the road from the ground there is a Morrisons and Dixy Chicken and there is a McDonald’s close by.

Merchandise

A paper programme is available to buy which cost £2 (cash only). I bought mine from a programme seller walking along the front of the seats though they also have a stall where you can buy them as you go into the Paddocks seated area. The main club store, ‘Blues Store’, is on the other side of the ground on Cattell Road and has all the normal club merchandise. In the Ultimo GG eSports bar, there were activities such as computer games, arts and crafts, games and face painting.