Birmingham City visitor guide | St Andrew's Ground guide

St Andrew's has been the home of Birmingham City F.C since 1906; the first match played here was a Division One fixture against Middlesbrough on Boxing Day 1906. After remaining largely untouched since the 1950s the stadium was heavily renovated during the 1990s, with the Tilton Road and Spion Kop stands (now forming one large single-tiered stand) being redeveloped in 1994 and the new two-tiered Railway End being opened in 1999; the Main Stand is the only stand remaining from the 'old' St Andrew's. Baroness Trumpington officially opened the current incarnation of St Andrew's on 15th November 1994. The grounds close proximity to the centre of Birmingham will please fans looking for a city centre hotel near St Andrew's.

The stadium has a 30,009 capacity and Birmingham City F.C. or the Blues as they affectionately known regularly draw a large crowd here. The current attendance record in the modern all-seater ground is 29,588 for a Premier League match against Arsenal in November 2003. Away fans will find themselves seated in one half of the Railway Stand's lower tier. Ticket allocation for away fans is usually around 3,000 although this can be increased to 4,500 should demand require so. Fans will be happy to know that a good view of the pitch is provided alongside the standard half time requirements such as pies, pasties, burgers, hotdogs and alcohol. The atmosphere inside the ground is often vocal, energetic and generally good natured but some can find it a bit intimidating at times.

Many supporters appreciate St Andrew's more 'traditional' location in an inner city area with plenty of pubs (as opposed to an edge of city location on a purpose built complex), but away fans are generally advised not to visit the pubs near the ground and to be careful of displaying their team's colours in some areas.

Stadium tours are available at St Andrew's; they take place midweek on Wednesdays at 11am and 12:30 pm.  

Getting To St Andrew's

By Car

Exit the M6 at Junction 6 and take the A38 (M) towards Birmingham City Centre. Take the second turn off for the Inner Ring Road, turn left at the end of the slip road and take the Ring Road East, the ground should be well signposted from here on. Unfortunately there is limited parking at St Andrew's but a secure outdoor car park can be found just a 15 minute walk away at Birmingham Wheels Park. As Birmingham city centre is only a 20-minute walk away so it may be advisable to park there and enjoy a stroll to the ground. If you do wish to bring your car to the stadium then parking is permitted in the surrounding streets.

As with all big cities, trying to navigate your way around for the first time can sometimes be more trouble than it is worth. So, if this is your first visit to the ground and Birmingham in general, it may well worth taking advantage of public transport to travel here or stay in a hotel near St Andrew's and make the journey on foot or by taxi.

By Public Transport

The nearest train station to St Andrew's is Bordesley and can be reached by trains departing from Birmingham's Snow Hill and Moor Street stations. The majority of intercity trains will arrive at Birmingham New Street station so travelling fans should be aware that they need to depart here and make the short 5-minute walk to Moor Street station (clearly signposted). If proceeding to St Andrew's on foot from New Street station (and the city centre in general), exit the station via the main exit and head towards the new Bull Ring shopping centre following the purple signs for Digbeth Coach Station. Once past the shopping centre and market keep following the signs for the coach station, walk past the coach station and continue down the road heading away from the city centre. When you reach a fork in the road bear left where you will pass under a railway bridge. Head straight down this road and you will eventually reach the ground.

If this seems too much then the ground can be reached by buses number 57A, 58 and 60. All depart from near Moor Street station.

The main bus station, located in Digbeth, is on route from the city centre to the stadium. The best advice on match day when exiting the station is to look for the crowds heading towards St Andrew's and follow them.