St Andrew's (stadium) - Other Uses

Other Uses

Teams representing England have played international matches at St Andrew's, though not at senior level. In 1957, England B defeated Scotland B under floodlights in front of nearly 40,000 spectators. England's junior sides have played there on several occasions, at under-23, under-21 – the 4–0 defeat to Spain in 2001 was the England under-21 team's worst home defeat – and youth levels. Before competitive football resumed after the First World War, a Scottish Football League XI beat their English counterparts, including Birmingham players Frank Womack and Billy Morgan, 3–1 at St Andrew's.

As of 2009, four FA Cup semifinals have taken place at St Andrew's, and the ground has hosted semifinal replays on five occasions, most recently in 1961. It was the venue for the 1987 play-off final replay, in which Charlton Athletic beat Leeds United to remain in the Football League First Division, and for the final of the FA Vase in 2004 and 2006.

The ground has also been used for other sports. Small Heath Harriers athletic club, whose headquarters had been at the Muntz Street ground, trained at St Andrew's until the 1920s. The 1960 South African touring rugby union team beat a Midland Counties XV by 16 points to 5 on a muddy St Andrew's pitch in front of a 17,000 crowd. In 1949, Dick Turpin beat Albert Finch on points to retain his British and Empire middleweight boxing title; Turpin's brothers Jack and future world middleweight champion Randolph fought on the undercard. In 1965, Henry Cooper defeated Johnny Prescott at St Andrew's to retain his British and Empire heavyweight title; the fight took place two days after originally scheduled, having been rained off at the last minute, which prompted debate as to the feasibility of outdoor boxing promotions in light of the uncertain British weather.

St Andrew's was the location for the stadium rally scene in Peter Watkins' 1967 film Privilege. It has hosted a number of music concerts: events include UB40, supported by The Pogues, in 1989, Duran Duran in 2005, and the 2002 Party in the Park, featuring Westlife and Sugababes among others.