St Andrew’s Stadium – Birmingham City

Birmingham City Club Contact Info
Official Website: www.bcfc.com
Address: Birmingham City Football Club, St Andrew’s Stadium, Birmingham, B9 4RL
Telephone No: 0121 772 0101
Ticket Office No: 0121 772 0101 (option 1) or ticket.office@bcfc.com

St Andrew’s Stadium General Info

Birmingham City once played their games at the Muntz Street ground but, having had St Andrew’s built, moved into the stadium in 1906. Back then almost 75,000 people could cram into the ground but there is room for less than half of that these days. The highest attendance on record was 66,844 for an FA Cup tie against Everton way back in 1939.

The pitch at St Andrew’s is a pretty tight 100 metres by 66 metres and is aided by the undersoil heating system which prevents the postponement of fixtures due to a frozen pitch. The grass is a hybrid surface and this also helps to keep the overall condition of the pitch good while also aiding aesthetics.

Capacity
These days crowds are down at Birmingham and the all-seated capacity of 29,400 at St Andrew’s is quite enough.

Stands
St Andrew’s is made up essentially of four different stands, namely the Main Stand, the Railway Stand, the Kop Stand and the Gil Merrick Stand.

Away Fans At St Andrew’s
Away fans at St Andrew’s tend to be given one end of the Gil Merrick Stand behind the goal on the western side of the ground. The stand is on two tiers and a standard allocation of 3,000 is usually given, though this can be extended for cup games or when the demand is big enough and the home sections are not sold out.

The negative feedback from a lot away fans has tended to be the crowded concourses at half time and the fact that a lot of hostility is sent from home fans just next to and occasionally above the away section in the Gil Merrick.

Ticket Prices
Although the pricing is staggered, for reference a typical Championship match ticket (Category C) for a single adult is anywhere between £15 and £25, fair value indeed, while the Club Class seats are priced at £30.

Concessions are available for seniors, students, 13-18 year olds, under-13’s and those registered with the adult or junior Blues Loyalty schemes.

Hospitality
St Andrew’s is particularly well off for restaurants, bars and lounges catering for hospitality guests on matchdays with the Boardroom Club, Jasper Carrott Suite, Legends’ Lounge, Captain’s Club, Wiseman Suite, Kop Executive Box, Gil Merrick Box and the Eze Group Stand Box all available.

A ticket in the Boardroom Club will cost £125 – £400 per person plus VAT while a seat in another room can be available for as little as £40 plus tax.

How To Get To St Andrew’s
The Blues’ stadium is only around 1½ miles from the middle of Birmingham and from New Street station, though the walk will take a full half hour and isn’t ideal for a lot of football fans. Trains do run to Bordesley station though which is a shorter, 10-minute walk to the ground.

Many bus routes including the 17, 58/59/60 and 97 leave from Moor Street Station towards St Andrew’s and take around 15 minutes. Drivers can take the A45 from the M42 and then turn east at Bordesley Circus onto Coventry Road.

Future Developments
Back in 2010 plans existed to turn St Andrew’s into a modern, exciting 45,000-seat arena befitting of a top level club. The fact that they are not a top level club and have in fact been in danger of going down to League One have seen these plans shelved for now with demand for tickets nowhere near enough to justify the investment.