The Dell (Southampton)

The Dell in Milton Road, Southampton, England was the home ground of Southampton Football Club, between 1898 and 2001.

Early days

The stadium was opened in September 1898, with the inaugural match on 3 September being against Brighton United. The first goal at the stadium was scored by Watty Keay and Saints won 4-1. The stadium had been built for an estimated £10,000 by George Thomas, a local fish merchant, who had bought the land just off Hill Lane and had transformed what was a natural dell, a lake flanked by banks of woodland. Thousands of tons of rubble had to be used to provide the foundations for the new ground. Initially the stadium had open staging behind each of the goals with stands along each side. The estimated capacity on opening was 24,500, of which 4,000 were seated.

Redevelopment

In 1927, the original West Stand was demolished (together with the club secretary's house) and the new West Stand was built. This was designed by Archibald Leitch, one of the greatest football stand designers of the day, who had also designed stands at Roker Park and at Goodison Park. A year later, on the last day of the 1928-29 season a dropped cigarette caused a fire which destroyed the East Stand. A replacement stand was built which mirrored the West Stand, increasing the ground capacity to approximately 30,000.

Wartime incidents

On 30 November 1940, a German bomb fell on the stadium during The Blitz, creating an 18-foot crater in the Milton Road penalty area. While the pitch was being restored, Saints had to play their remaining fixtures in 1940-41 away, although in February 1941, they played a "home" War Cup tie with Brentford at Fratton Park, Portsmouth.

In March 1941, an explosion of munitions stored at the ground caused a major fire in the West Stand although this was rebuilt soon afterwards.

At the start of the 1941-42 season they played their home games at Dew Lane, Eastleigh, before the Dell was re-opened in October 1941.

Post-war

In 1950, The Dell became the first ground in England to have permanent floodlighting installed. The first game played under the lights was on 31 October 1950, in a friendly against Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, followed a year later by the first "official" match under floodlights, a Football Combination (Reserve team) match against Tottenham Hotspur on 1 October 1951.

During the post-war years, huge crowds packed into The Dell. The attendance record was broken on 8 October 1969, when 31,044 watched Saints lose 3-0 to a Manchester United team which included George Best and Bobby Charlton.

Further redevelopment

In the 1980s, there were several changes at the ground, with the makeshift "chocolate boxes" at the Milton Road end being replaced by a new stand used for family ticket holders a two level concrete structure. The standing areas under the East and West stands being fitted with bench seats, before The Dell became an all-seater stadium in the early 1990s in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989, which obliged all clubs in the top two English divisions had all-seater stadiums. New stands were erected at both ends of the stadium, but by the 1993-94 season the stadium now had a capacity of just over 15,000, the smallest in the top level of English football. The Milton Road Stand was notable for its wedge-like appearance. [http://www.apwj49.dsl.pipex.com/lost/thedell8.jpg]

Final days

By this time, the Saints were looking for a new home. By the mid 1990s it seemed as if the search was over as the club announced plans to move to a new stadium at the village of Stoneham near Eastleigh. However, the club fell into a dispute with the local council about the lack of community facilities. Many people in Eastleigh were also unhappy with having another town's football club in their area (Refer to EBC Planning application Z/32214/003/00). The dispute was resolved when the chairman, Rupert Lowe, declared new plans for the club to move to a new 32,000-seat stadium, for a cost of £32 million, on Brittania Road on the banks of the River Itchen. The relocation was confirmed at the end of the 1998-99 season (when Southampton achieved a late escape from relegation for the sixth time in eight seasons) and work began soon afterwards.

The new St Mary's Stadium was ready for the 2001-02 season.

On 19 May 2001, legendary midfielder Matthew Le Tissier (who retired from playing a year later) said goodbye to the stadium that had been host to his entire professional career by scoring a spectacular volley in the final minutes of the last league game securing a 3-2 win against Arsenal.

On 26 May the club's loyal fans said goodbye to The Dell by stripping all of its seats, the pitch and one man even walked off with an advertising board at the end of a friendly with Brighton and Hove Albion - making them the first and last club to play Southampton at the stadium. Saints won this game 1-0, with the goal (the last ever at The Dell) being scored by Uwe Rösler.

During its 103-year life, The Dell had been home to Southampton during some of its finest moments - most of all during the 1976 FA Cup run, which finished with a win at Wembley.

The Dell was demolished later in 2001 and a housing estate was built on the site. [http://www.aap-arc.co.uk/pf_dell.html] . The apartment blocks on the site bear the names of Saints Legends:

* Stokes Court
* Bates Court
* Le Tissier Court
* Wallace Court
* Channon Court

References

*cite book
author=Dave Juson & David Bull
title=Full-Time at The Dell
publisher=Hagiology
year=2001
id=ISBN 0-9534474-2-1

External links

* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010523/ai_n14383013 Memorable matches at The Dell - from The Independent]
* [http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/past_future/pictures/past_stadiums/southampton_dell.shtml Pictures of the old stadium]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/hampshire/content/image_galleries/saints_archive_gallery.shtml?4 Picture of the old "Chocolate Boxes"]