Southampton planned to move to a different site years before building St. Mary’s.
The Saints moved into their £32million stadium in 2001 after leaving The Dell, their home of 103 years.
It came after years of rumours regarding a relocation in the wake of the move to all-seater arenas.
The club had moved into their iconic ground in 1898 having spent their early years playing at the Antelope Ground and County Ground, both more commonly used for cricket.
A move away from The Dell emerged as a possibility during Southampton’s increased popularity in the 1980s.
Demand for tickets continued to rise into the 1990s following a record league finish of second in 1984.
Meanwhile, The Dell’s capacity stood at just 15,200 after renovation work in 1994 to convert it to an all-seater facility.
As a result, Southampton lined up a move to the Shoreham area of the city on the border with Eastleigh.
It was hoped that the move to an expanded 25,000-capacity ground would meet the club’s financial and commercial demands.
There had been fears that the lower capacity at The Dell would lead to increased ticket prices and financial constraints for the club.
Once the Stoneham site was chosen, a campaign was launched for the project titled Stadium 2000, named after the planned opening date.
Concerns over the location of the site resulted in years of disputes with the Southampton City Council.
The Saints were ultimately offered an unused plot of land which had previously been the site of gasworks.
However, there were initial doubts that it did not have the space for the additional sports facilities and commercial opportunities needed to finance the project.
The proposed site did have the advantage of being located in the city centre and less than two miles from their old ground, though.
As a result, construction on St. Mary’s began in December 1999, with the stadium finished in June 2001 at a cost of £32million.
Southampton would go on to move into their new 32,384-capacity home the following season.
St. Mary’s has since hosted 16 seasons of top-flight football as well as three separate European campaigns.
The stadium was also selected as a host venue for the 2022 Women’s Euros.
During the tournament, three group stage fixtures were played at St. Mary’s, including England’s 5-0 win over Northern Ireland.
It will, however, see a return of Championship football next season.
Southampton have already been relegated back to the second tier, and need one more point from their last six games to avoid being their worst ever Premier League team.
