Southampton Football Club is making sure that it can comply with new regulations in place regarding Covid 19 Status checks and these will be in place for the fixture with Tottenham Hotspur.
Saints are lucky with St Mary's in that although it is hemmed in by the railway line an industrial estate and the gasworks on 3 sides and a road in close proximity on the other, it does have a reasonable concourse surrounding the ground, therefore they have ample room to put in extra access gates to spread out the queues and make Covid status checks well before the turnstile.
Of course it may not run smoothly, but anyone who witnessed the queues in the home sections at Crystal Palace where two stands have turnstiles that are only a pavement width from a road will know that spreading the crowds out has to be help.
The following statement has been issued.
Southampton Football Club has installed new entry points at St Mary’s to keep fans safe and allow a smooth entry into the stadium on matchdays with Covid-19 status checks taking place ahead of fixtures, in line with Premier League guidelines.
To help allow a safe and smooth entry into the ground for all fans, a perimeter fence has been erected ahead of next week’s fixture against Spurs, with five entry points located around the stadium before supporters enter the turnstiles. Please allow extra time for Covid-19 status checks and arrive at St Mary’s as early as possible.
Fans can refer to the information and map below to find out the appropriate entry point for the stand they have tickets for:
- Chapel/Family/Kingsland South gate on Melbourne Street gate for Chapel Stand, Family Stand and Kingsland South ticket holders
- Itchen South/Chapel gate on Marine Parade gate for Itchen Stand and Chapel Stand ticket holders
- Itchen North gate for Itchen North stand
- Northam Home/Kingsland North gate by the footbridge for Northam Stand and Kingsland North ticket holders
- Away gate on Britannia Road for away ticket holders
https://s1-sfc.thirdlight.com/file/71278957788/width=1920
In essence this is pretty much the same type of system that was put in place when Saints took on Leeds United last season in front of a reduced capacity of 8,000. it worked then and although that was a far smaller crowd, in theory it should work, although it does rely on supporters not all turning up in the last 15 minutes or so before kick off, but that would be the same in any stadium.
More information can be found using the link below
https://www.southamptonfc.com/news/2021-12-23/southampton-fc-new-entry-points-in