The city of Southampton is known for being a quiet and football town in the United Kingdom
, where relevant news usually revolves around the results of
Southampton FC
, the city's team, which currently plays in the
EFL Sky Bet Championship
, the second division of English football.
This Wednesday night the city was going to host the match corresponding to date 36 of the Championship between Soton, as the local team is usually called, and
Preston North End FC
, but due to a factory located in front of the stadium being caught fire, the game had to be postponed.
BREAKING: Championship game between Southampton and Preston postponed after huge fire breaks out next to St Mary's Stadiumhttps://t.co/q0YnRphyyp
đź“ş Sky 501 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/q4q4SN3CD9
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 6, 2024
As is normal in England, football team stadiums are located in built-up areas, with factories and houses around them.
St.
Mary's Stadium
, the home of the
Saints
, has several textile venues in its vicinity and one of them caught fire hours before the start of the game, causing serious disruptions in the vicinity of the sports venue.
At the time the fire started, in the area of ​​Marine Parade Avenue, between Belvidere Road and Chapel Road, there were fans waiting for the doors to open to enter the stadium and journalists, who were evacuated.
The streets were closed so that firefighters could work in the area.
Local authorities warned and recommended neighbors stay away from the area and even close the windows of their house to avoid smoke poisoning.
After consulting with all the corresponding entities, the institution, through a statement, announced the postponement of the match, with no date confirmed so far.
"We are very grateful for the cooperation of Preston and the EFL, while we understand the inconvenience it causes to fans. We hope they understand that we have to put the safety of fans and club workers first." , reads the Saints statement.
#SaintsFC regrets to announce that tonight's @SkyBetChamp fixture against Preston has been postponed:
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) March 6, 2024
“The large column of smoke coming out of the building was a discouraging place,” said a
Daily Echo
journalist who went to the scene with another reporter.
"There was a feeling of amazement and fear at the size of the cloud of smoke that was observed above our heads and people raised their phones in the air to try to take photographs, including us," added the journalist in relation to the fire.
At one point the cloud of smoke coming out of the burned factory was so large that it even covered the stadium.
Very much doubt the game will go ahead today.
pic.twitter.com/wJkxUmcWQH
— Saints Statistics (@TheStatsSaint) March 6, 2024
Southampton Official Statement
Southampton Football Club regrets to announce that tonight's Sky Bet Championship match against Preston North End has been postponed.
The decision was made after consultation with local authorities and emergency services after a large fire broke out in a building next to St Mary's stadium today.
The incident has caused significant disruption to the area and road closures around the stadium are still in place as fire crews continue to deal with the situation.
We are grateful for the cooperation of Preston and the EFL, and while we appreciate the disappointment fans may feel, we hope they understand the need to put the safety of fans and staff of both clubs first.
The match will be postponed to a new date, which will be announced in due course, and all tickets for tonight's match will be valid for the rescheduled fixture.