Paul Barber, chief executive of Brighton & Hove Albion, has revealed that the Premier League club will introduce a new tunnel club experience to the Amex Stadium as part of upgrades that will be carried out during the break for the FIFA World Cup.
Writing in his programme notes ahead of Brighton’s 4-1 win against Chelsea on Saturday, Barber said work on the hospitality experience would begin later this month.
Other work pencilled in for the World Cup break will include new branding and signage on the stadium’s exterior, as well as new food and beverage experiences.
Brighton will host Aston Villa on November 13 before the Premier League takes an extended break due to the winter World Cup in Qatar from November 20 to December 18. The Premier League returns on December 26, with Brighton’s first home match after the break to be against Arsenal on December 31.
“As much as most of us love the World Cup, playing it in the middle of our season certainly doesn’t feel right,” Barber wrote, according to SussexLive. “The break does, however, allow us to commence some important works in the stadium.
“First, the initial construction phase for our new tunnel club, a new experiential hospitality experience that will take fans to the very heart of our matchday football operations in the tunnel area, with seats behind our dugouts; secondly to prepare for upgrades and improvements to our club branding and signage around the stadium; and thirdly to prepare for works to introduce new outdoor food, drink and entertainment facilities at the Amex.
“Our aim is to use the enforced and extended winter break to ensure we can minimise, or ideally eliminate as far as possible, any inconvenience or disruption to fans while these various preparatory works to improve our stadium facilities and environment are carried out.
“We anticipate that the remainder of the various works we are commencing will be carried out in a coordinated and phased process over the following 12 and 18 months, subject to budget.”
