Images: Brighton & Hove Albion
Premier League football club Brighton & Hove Albion has submitted plans for a covered fan zone at the American Express Stadium.
The fan zone, which Brighton hopes to open in time for the 2024-25 season, will seek to enhance the experience for supporters before and after matches. On non-match days, the space will serve as a venue for sports screenings, music gigs and other events.
Further details on the fan zone will be shared ahead of any potential opening. The space, which will create up to 50 full- and part-time jobs, will require planning permission from Brighton & Hove City Council.
In the short term, the stadium’s Dick’s Bar will remain open before matches. The bar will eventually be incorporated within the new fan zone to help facilitate further future development of the club’s facilities in the north stand.
It is hoped a planning decision will be received before the end of the year, or at the start of 2024. The club would then begin work early next year with a view to the fan zone opening for the 2024-25 season.
Brighton chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber said: “I am sure fans will be extremely excited to see these plans and designs, and this is another incredibly generous investment by our chairman Tony Bloom.
“We all loved the Box Park experience on our two most recent trips to Wembley, and we wanted to give supporters something similar for every home game at the Amex.
“The new fan zone will provide an excellent pre-and-post-match experience, in an even bigger pre-turnstile bar, with a modern and innovative fit-out and a wide variety of food and drink offerings, using the best local Sussex suppliers wherever possible.”
Earlier this month, Brighton & Hove City Council put forward a motion to build a purpose-built stadium for the club’s Women’s Super League team, which currently plays at the 6,000-capacity Broadfield Stadium in Crawley, 20 miles away from Brighton.
The council has since committed to supporting the club’s plans for the stadium, which would be built within the Brighton city boundaries. No timeline for the project has been set.
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