Brighton & Hove Albion plan to build Europe’s first purpose-built women’s football venue directly next to The Amex Stadium by 2030.
The ground will have a minimum capacity of 10,000 and is expected to cost between £75million and £80million. It will have a bridge connecting it to The Amex, the 31,876-seat home of Brighton’s men’s team.
Brighton Women are set to join two US franchises — Denver Summit and Kansas City Current — as the only women’s football teams with a bespoke venue.
An aerial view of the proposed new development, which is expected to cost about between £75million and £80millionBrighton & HOve Albion
“Being the first designated stadium helps raise the profile [of women’s football] in this country and also internationally,” Tony Bloom, Brighton’s owner and chairman, said. “It’s a really big moment. I’m proud that Brighton & Hove Albion are at the forefront of women’s football.”
Brighton Women play mainly at Crawley Town’s Broadfield Stadium, which holds about 6,000 and is 20 miles north of The Amex. In this season’s Women’s Super League, their average attendance in eight games at Broadfield Stadium is 2,393, while their one match at The Amex attracted 4,645 — less than 15 per cent capacity.
“The Amex is the most magnificent stadium but, unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well for women’s football,” Bloom said.
While Brighton’s women’s ground will not be below 10,000 capacity, Bloom said it was unlikely to be much higher. With no WSL team besides Arsenal posting an average attendance greater than 10,000 this season, Brighton believe their planned capacity balances ambition with reality.
Bloom described The Amex as a “magnificent” stadium but said that it “doesn’t work so well” for women’s footballPaul Terry/Sportimage/Alamy
“Putting on top-class football matches in stadiums that are too big can be detrimental because it can give a sense to the crowd that not everyone cares as much as they do, therefore it’s not such a big event,” Brighton’s chief executive, Paul Barber, said. “If we get to that lovely position where we’re regularly sold out and people are clamouring for tickets, we do have a neighbouring stadium about 50 metres away that we might be able to use for our biggest games.”
Besides Everton, who moved into Goodison Park this season after the men’s team left for Hill Dickinson Stadium, no WSL side has a ground dedicated solely to them. A purpose-built stadium guards against fixture clashes with men’s football, which can lead to the rearranging of women’s games.
On the project’s finances, Bloom said: “As things stand, I’m not looking for outside investment”. However, public funding would be welcomed.”
“We’ve got a responsibility to Tony and our board to make sure that if there is any support that we can get from the government to help fund the stadium, we will do it,” Barber said. “But we’re working on the basis that Tony’s unstinting support for the club will continue and deliver the stadium.”
Brighton’s planning permission application for The Amex was protracted, and they eventually opened the stadium in 2011 after 14 years without their own home ground.
Brighton’s women’s team play most of their home games at Broadfield Stadium, which is about 20 miles north of The AmexSimon Dack/TPI/Alamy
The women’s stadium requires planning approval from local government, but Barber hopes the process will be smoother than that of The Amex because of the precedent set by the ground.
“We’ve got proof of concept here,” he said. “We’ve got a hugely successful stadium that’s contributed over half a billion pounds to the local economy, created hundreds of jobs, given huge enjoyment to thousands of people.” The club will use the same architects, KSS Group, that built the Amex.
The project’s strapline, “Built for Her”, hints at how the stadium will be tailored to women’s football players and fans through its changing rooms, concourses and catering. The club are also exploring whether the turf can influence injury risk for female athletes.
“It’s a really exciting and proud moment to be part of a club that’s trying to lead the way and push the game to another level,” Fran Kirby, the Brighton midfielder who won 77 England caps, said.
Brighton were promoted to the WSL in 2018 and their long-term ambition is to break into the division’s top four. They sit sixth and have reached the FA Cup semi-finals.