SAINTS chief executive Phil Parsons has hinted towards more exciting plans for St Mary’s Stadium following the announcement of an upcoming Take That concert.
The legendary pop group are set to play the Southampton venue as part of their new tour in June 2024, with tickets already on sale.
St Mary’s Group own the stadium as well as Southampton Football Club and Parsons sees an opportunity to use the venue more and increase their revenue.
Parsons also revealed infrastructure improvements are set to come, including Wi-Fi and the introduction of safe standing for Saints matches.
He insisted he cannot reveal any specifics yet but the move would likely see more entertainment and community opportunities come to Southampton.
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo, Parsons said: “The commercial team have done a great job with getting some short-term wins and making the most of it.
“The second focus is that we have a stadium, it’s ours and we own it, that we need to drive more revenue from. The (Take That) concert being announced is one of that.
“We will also be looking at how we operate our hospitality at the stadium, it’s a quick win and we can do a lot more with it.”
Parsons added: “Longer term, we’ve been talking to the council a lot about longer-term plans – nothing that I can share today, but we want to do more around St Mary’s with fans.
It’s an opportunity for us to drive more revenue to the club. It’s not something you can do in a week but we want the council to help us and equally they want us to help them.
When you look around the area of St Mary’s, there are lots of spaces that can be developed and maybe that is with us. We’re looking at opportunities with that space.
It will be great if, by the end of the year, we’ve got some more plans with what we’re doing and will update you on that