ECHO pictures taken twenty years ago provide a tour of St Mary's Stadium as it was when the building was new.
After years of planning, with various different sites considered, building at the old gas works in St Mary's began in June of 2000 with the £32 million project set to be finished 13 months later in July 2001.
By the end of 2000 the club’s state-of-the-art 32,000-seat stadium was well underway and, despite the potential of many problems, Saints received the keys to Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium on July 31.
It was the beginning of a new era for the club and its fans.
The player's tunnel.
The pictures in the gallery above were taken shortly after the opening and show the stadium in its brand-new state.
Things have obviously changed over the years and been redeveloped - we'll never see it quite like this again!
READ MORE:
- When the St Mary's Stadium site first opened to visitors
- Beginning of construction of 'The New Dell'
- Looking back at Saints' best-laid plans for a new stadium
- Behind-the-scenes tour of The Dell
- More behind-the-scenes pictures
- Saints 3-2 Arsenal – last competitive match at The Dell
- Pictures of the demolition of The Dell
- Pitch invasion at The Dell after last ever match
- Photos from the last floodlit match at Saints' former ground
- The Dell – a brief history of the much-loved ground
- Saints 1-0 Brighton – last match played at The Dell
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