I was stood in water nearly ankle-deep in the queue for the North Stand bar (Aussie) pre-match for 20mins and eventually gave up so as not to miss the KO.
Bar staff inept & disorganised - possibly 'teething' problems.

Tannoy very poor & couldn't hear the 'hooter'.

Scoreboard display too small - would need binoculars to read the clock from North stand 'C'.

Huge 'bottlenecks' to the pedestrian flow leaving the stadium - side of Tesco & bridge approach.

But, hey, the stadium's great and the pitch is fantastic.
(Not so sure about the team though).

A lot of the problems like PA and queues at the bars are easily fixed and no doubt be sorted but it's the concourses that's the big problem and pretty unsafe with all the puddles of rain water.

Standing in few inch puddles while in line to get food or drink is not acceptable!

What went well

Loved the walk to the stadium. I just can't get over how cool Saints Way bridge is and what a thrill it is to turn the corner at Tesco and face the South Stand. Amazing.

Loved being able to stroll around the concourse.

Loved my spec in the West Stand. At the training session I felt the action was too far away but I'm glad I went to that night because it helped me to adjust from the days at Widnes so that I could really enjoy the view from my chosen place last night.

I thought us in the West Stand did ok for a first hit out and considering it took most of the match for the team to get going (no surprise there given that it was this version of Saints' first game on the pitch this year).

Saints sell coffee in cups that I can hold for longer than 10 seconds. BONUS!!

Also, I was served very quickly before the match. I didn't attempt to get a drink at halftime; I never do. It's always a waste of my life no matter which stadium I am in! I felt sorry for the events staff. I know Saints have been recruiting to those positions so we have a lot of inexperienced young people serving. Hopefully they won't have been too put off by the comments of some of the more demanding and less considerate fans but instead will stick with it as I am sure they will grow in confidence and efficiency as time goes on.

I enjoyed listening to music while I was waiting to enter the stadium.

The special matchday programme was fabulous.

Although the volume needs raising, the PA connection had improved as not once did it cut out like it did on the training night.

I enjoyed reading all the legends boards. Those and the Robinsons signs really add a touch of something different to the concourses.

The toilet facilities are great! Loads of cubicles, plenty of wash basins and four hand dryers meant that there wasn't any delay to the ablutions.

The steps on the terracing were nice and deep. I never got the feeling I was going to fall when walking down, which I do sometimes at other grounds.

The stewards were very helpful and friendly. One held my coffee while I was taking pictures!

It only took me five minutes longer to get back into the town centre after the match than it did to get to the match (and I got to Langtree Park at 6.20). That's good going given the number of fans walking in the same direction.

I thought the whole ambience was one of friendly welcome rather than being all dictatorial, as seemed to be the case at Widnes. Very few lectures to be heard!

What didn't go so well

PA needs turning up in the West Stand.

I really wish no beer was allowed in the West Stand.

The obvious one about the 'water feature' as one fan wittily observed. Hopefully the cladding will at least minimise weather disruption once it is completed.

Saints need to block off the pathway alongside Tesco when people exit the stadium to encourage fans to use the much wider and better lit boulevard areas.

Not enough bar staff.
Couldnt be bothered getting a drink at half time in the south stand, the queue was never ending.

Be great when the cladding and advertising hoardings are up though.
The flood lights are very low, soon as the balls kicked high I was blinded by them

surprised there isnt a permanant screen in the corner.
Decent PA cost a lot of money so never expect anything special for that but would be a very nice bonus.

Toilets are no where near as good as knowsley road, There are these wierd white bowls that you can flush, and then people where using bowls to put water on there hands.
In fact they where inside.
Must be temperary until they bring the old ones to the new ground.

Every cloud eh?

Spoke to Eamonn today, was at Saints for something unrelated and bumped into him.

Basically, He absolutely agreed about the problems with the cladding and water issues but a few things he mentioned should answer some questions.

a ) I pointed out we are all proud of the achievement, mainly due him, and that we are reporting issues as we want the stadium to be the best in the league, nay country, and that he understand fans comments on the issues related to the stadium, and is thankful for them.
b ) The club are waiting for reports about the problems from both the broken roof and the Widnes game to be prepared over the next week or so BEFORE cladding is installed. It will be done though once the paperwork is completed. This also negates a possible press release or club statement on the construction work done and needing to be done.
c ) We need to be patient, as H&S and the above reports take time to put together and get agreed etc.
d ) A possible reduction of capacity for the Salford game to 17,000.
e ) The list of problems will be looked into by staff at the club.


The conversation was in no way a meeting and lasted no more than 5 minutes, Eamonn was HAPPY to talk about the C word, I didn't have a list of issues or time to go through them with him, and I would think that still needs to be coordinated.

oh also, whilst I think on, there will (for the salford game initially) be no movement between stands, it was apparant that people bought South Stand tickets only to stand in the west stand (bizarre as its cheaper to buy in the west) this won't be allowed for the Salford game.

Eamonn seemed pretty sad with this as he envisaged movement possible between stands to allow for people to meet up at half time, walk around freely etc.