‘Seagulls’ nest Amex capacity to go up

Article posted by Coliseum, March 15^th, 2021

Image: visitbrighton.com

Premier League team Brighton & Hove Albion (UK) fans will benefit from an expanded capacity at the American Express Community Stadium after the club received the thumbs-up from Brighton & Hove City Council for uplift to a total capacity of 32,500.

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the City of Brighton and Hove (UK). They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system.

The 30,666-capacity Falmer Stadium, known for sponsorship purposes as the American Express Community Stadium, is a football stadium in the village of Falmer, in the City of Brighton and Hove, Sussex (UK) that serves as the home of Brighton & Hove Albion. The stadium was handed over from the developers to the club on May 31^st, 2011. The multi-award winning Amex Community Stadium and the latest capacity expansion and fan experience enhancements were designed by architecture and design practice, KSS.

A statement on the Brighton & Hove Albion website read, “In line with the Government’s plans, all clubs are hopeful of being able to open stadia at full capacity from the start of the 2021-22 seasons, and if this is the case Albion fans will benefit from more ticket availability at the Amex from August when a newly increased capacity of 31,800 seats will be available.”

The statement further read, “The latest Amex stadium expansion plans, which include permission being granted for an exciting new external fan zone area, including kiosks, external toilets and a giant screen on Station Approach, further underlines Brighton & Hove Albion Chairman Tony Bloom’s commitment to the club. The works, some of which are already completed and others of which will be phased over the short- to medium-term, are also set to include an extra stairway leading from the external concourse to the coach park and a new gatehouse on Village Way.”

Commented Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman Paul Barber, Brighton & Hove Albion FC, “This is a really positive move and fans will benefit from an even better matchday experience at the Amex in the future. We pride ourselves on delivering the best experience for fans, and this is yet another significant investment from Tony Bloom to help us further our facilities, and open the stadium up to even more Albion supporters, hopefully from next August, and also further in the future.”

Added Barber, “These plans have been in place for some time, and initially we would have hoped to have seen supporters benefiting from them much sooner.

Additional stadium seating was our priority, and the majority of this is now in place taking our capacity to just fewer than 32,000, but the pandemic means we will phase other parts of our planned stadium work over time.”

The top official noted, “We are now looking ahead with cautious optimism to next season when we hope we can welcome back fans and begin to enjoy the Amex experience again.”

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