When Sunderland supporters returned to the Stadium of Light for their first home game of the season they noticed something different.
There was nervous excitement in the air with the club back in the Premier League for the first time in eight years, and the place seemed brighter and more welcoming than usual.
They realised a lick of paint had been added to the concourses and murals of club legends, including Kevin Phillips, Niall Quinn and Kevin Ball, now adorned the walls.
Sunderland's incredible tifo ahead of their first Premier League match since 2017
“It was quite dull before,” says Stephen Goldsmith, founder of the popular Wise Men Say fan podcast. “It’s such a little thing but the ground’s nearly 30 years old, it had grey walls and a cold appearance. It makes a difference. You’re in a place where you don’t mind spending time.”
The Stadium of Light, sitting a mile from the centre of town, has been Sunderland’s home since 1997, when it replaced Roker Park, their ground for almost a century.
This season, when many expected Sunderland to be in a relegation battle, it has become their fortress: the points accumulated at home one of the main reasons they sit comfortably in mid-table and still in touching distance of the top four.
After Arsenal lost to Manchester United at Emirates Stadium, Sunderland became the only remaining side unbeaten at home in the Premier League this season, with six wins and five draws.
Furthermore, only Arsenal and Manchester City have conceded fewer goals at home. The unbeaten run has included draws against the top three title challengers – Arsenal, Man City and Aston Villa – and a win against fierce rivals Newcastle United.
Watch: The full-time scenes from the Tyne-Wear derby
It’s the second-longest home unbeaten run Sunderland have been on in the Premier League, and if they avoid losing against Burnley on Monday and Liverpool nine days later, they will match their record run that ended in January 2001.
Beyond a fresh coat of paint, what’s behind it?
Fans at the core of club decisions
In summer 2024, when they were in the Championship, Sunderland sent a detailed survey to all season ticket holders asking for feedback on how the club could be improved. Painting the stadium was one suggestion, another was to reintroduce Hummel as the kit sponsor – a nostalgic reminder of good times and the final years at Roker Park.
“It’s the kind of decision a fan would make if they joined the board,” Goldsmith says. “Football clubs don’t often listen to fans.”
But Sunderland have been listening intently.
David Bruce, the chief business officer, is credited with putting fans at the centre of decision-making. Bruce, born in Wearside, joined the club in July 2023. The Hummel deal “set the tone for a new commitment that places fans at the core of the Club’s actions”, the club said.
Ticket prices have not been significantly increased, despite the club returning to the top flight. Pints in the stadium are also in line with prices in the city centre. “That was always the opposite,” Goldsmith says.
'Regis Le Bridge' connecting club and city
The opening of a £31million footbridge last October, carrying fans from the city centre across the River Wear to the stadium, has been transformative.
The official name of the bridge is Keel Crossing, but Sunderland fans nicknamed it the ‘Regis Le Bridge’ – a tribute to manager Regis Le Bris who was appointed in summer 2024 and guided them back into the Premier League.
Sunderland fans walking across the new 'Keel Crossing' bridge
The football team has always been considered the “heartbeat of the community” and now the direct walk from city centre to stadium has tied the two even tighter.
“It’s pulled the stadium to the city,” Goldsmith says. “It feels like we’ve got a city-centre ground. Before, as the crow flies, it was like that, but you had to go out of your way to get there. Now you’re five minutes from the town.”
A 'cauldron of noise'
Step off the footbridge and enter the stadium at ground level, unfamiliar visiting fans often find a surprise. In most stadiums you go up stairs to the pitch – at the Stadium of Light you go down them.
“It’s where one of the old mining pits used to be,” Goldsmith explains. “It makes a little cauldron of noise. It sounds like the crowd is right on top of the pitch.”
Goldsmith has noticed opposition players “visibly go under” when the crowd are fired up. “It’s a loud ground,” he says.
Watch: Sunderland fans cheer EVERY TACKLE in win against Newcastle
Ball, the midfielder who played over 300 games for Sunderland in the 1990s, would often launch into a heavy tackle to ignite the crowd if he felt they were a bit flat.
Irrespective of results, Sunderland fans just want to see that the players care as much about the club as they do. This season, that has forged a strong symbiosis between the two.
“They’ve shown us they care and we give it back and it’s a two-way relationship with them,” says Goldsmith.
“We go behind now and nobody panics, nobody gets onto them. We’ve got the second-most points when coming from behind this season.”
They have trailed in six of their 11 home games, but ended up winning three and drawing three.
Players, fans and coaches have created 'something powerful'
Goldsmith attended his first Sunderland game in 1987, when he was six years old. Now 45, he has watched the team for almost four decades.
How does the atmosphere in the stadium now compare to the best he has experienced?
“It’s right up there,” he says. “The first four seasons when the Stadium of Light opened and Peter Reid was manager, we smashed the Championship and finished seventh in the Premier League a couple of times. It’s very similar to then.
“The stadium has definitely played a part in the season. The atmosphere has been unbelievable. Everybody’s been plugged in and tuned in together.
“The players are buying into it, the coaching staff are buying into it, the fans as well. It’s led to something powerful.”