Key facts
Club: Brighton & Hove Albion FC | Opening: 2011 | Capacity: 31,800 seats
History and description
The Amex, officially called the American Express Community Stadium and also referred to as Falmer Stadium, officially opened on the 30th of July 2011 with a friendly match between Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur (2-3).
Brighton had been planning the construction of a new stadium from as early as 1995 after former chairman Bill Archer had sold their Goldstone Ground to property developers.
When Brighton became homeless they first ground-shared with Gillingham for two seasons, and then moved to the Withdean Stadium, an athletics stadium in Brighton that, though it was upgraded, lacked the modern facilities for League football.
In the end it took Brighton until 2007 to get planning permission due to various legal challenges. Building works subsequently began in 2008 and in 2010 the club confirmed a naming rights sponsorship deal with American Express.
The Amex was designed to allow for an easy capacity increase to 30,000 seats, and already in December 2011 the club started planning for expansion.
Brighton received planning permission in early 2012 and an extra 5,000 seats were added before the start of the 2012-13 season by creating a second tier on the East Stand and closing the corners of the South Sand. Brighton added an additional 3,000 seats in early 2013 to bring capacity to 30,500 seats, which was again increased to 31,800 in 2021 following some small adjustments.
How to get to The Amex
The Amex is located north-east of Brighton near the University of Sussex campus at about 4 kilometres from Brighton’s main rail station, and slightly more from Brighton’s seafront with its pier.
The stadium lies just south off the A27 motorway. Take the exit toward the B2123 Falmer.
If using public transport, The Amex can be reached by train. Falmer Rail Station lies practically adjacent to stadium. Trains from Brighton Rail Station leave every 10 to 20 minutes for the 10-minute journey. From London a transfer in Lewes or Brighton is required.
Alternatively, bus 25 can be used to reach the stadium. Take the bus on Western Road in Brighton’s centre. The ride from the centre to stop Falmer Station takes about 20 minutes.
Address: Village Way, Brighton, BN1 9BL
Eat, drink, and sleep near The Amex
The Amex is located outside of the city of Brighton, bordered by the University of Sussex campus, some residential housing and farmlands. There is little around in terms of eating and drinking, which is recommended to be done in pleasant Brighton.
The are neither any hotels in the close vicinity of The Amex, but there is plenty of choice in Brighton on the seafront. Click here for an overview of hotels in Brighton.
Brighton & Hove Albion Tickets
Tickets for Brighton matches can be bought online, or at the Ticket Office at The Amex Stadium.
Tickets are also sold at the stadium on the day of the match. Brighton often sell out though so booking in advance is recommended.
Ticket prices depend on the opponent. Prices for category C matches, the cheapest, range from £30.00 for a seat behind the goal to £46.00 for a central seat at one of the sides. Prices for category A matches, the most expensive, start at £45.00 and range up to £65.00 for the most expensive seats.
The Amex Stadium Tours
Brighton organise guided stadium tours that include access to the hospitality lounges, trophy room, directors lounge, changing rooms, press areas, and dugouts. The tours last about 105 minutes.
Tours run multiple times a week, typically on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays in the morning or afternoon. Check the official website for upcoming dates and bookings. Bookings can also be made at the Ticket Offices at The Amex.
The tour costs £13.00.
Photos of The Amex
Useful websites
Seagulls.co.uk – Official website of Brighton & Hove Albion FC.
Visitbrighton.com – Brighton tourist information and tourism guides.
Buses.co.uk – Brighton bus travel information.
7 comments
2nd November 2019 was my third visit to The AMEX with Norwich and though we have been stuffed on the last two visits I always enjoy the trip. The stadium is beautiful with fantastic sight lines and comfort, great pies and beer. Away fans get treated well and can generate a loud noise, and the Brighton fans create a good noise from two of their stands. Getting there and back from Brighton Station is free though don’t be in a rush after the game as there are queues, as you would expect. The locals are generally friendly and to be honest it is the experience we should expect from going to away matches.
Visited 13/04/19 for the Bournemouth match. Brighton thrashed 0-5. Despite that carnage, the overall experience was pretty nice, but different than any other match I’ve attended in the UK. The modern stadium was comfortable and posh (padded seats!), not sure if that’s good or bad, and the pies were excellent. It was an easy train ride from Brighton, but as others have commented, long lines at the station. They moved fast, but I’d still give a decent amount of time to get there before the game. The away fans were really giving it to the home side at the stadium and on the train, with zero push-back, pretty weak in my opinion. The home fans didn’t really seem to have much of a spine, much like their team on the pitch. All that said, it was a pleasant day in Brighton and a whole new experience compared to other games I’ve been to in the UK.
If you are going by train from the centre of Brighton, leave plenty of time for the journey as the queue at the station was pretty long. Trains may leave every 10-15 minutes but that’s really not regular enough. And coming back is even worse – the queues in both directions from Falmer station stretched a long way and again trains were running at intervals of 15 minutes. This was midweek, maybe they would be more regular on a Saturday afternoon.
The stadium itself is fine – a reasonable atmosphere and decent facilities in the away end.
fantastic experiance our party of four thoroughly enjoyed our tour ,the guide was excellent ,the stadium was a great design and all the facilities were first class
Re Jeremy 14/06/14 ‘exit strategy’
That’s pretty-much what its like for every home game 🙁
I have just visited the Amex Stadium for the first time as an away fan at the Wolves game and would like to say how organised everything was. From the car park where the stewards organised a swift and orderly exit to the away refreshment areas which offered a very good choice of food and drink. The service was excellent and staff were extremely friendly and made you feel very welcome which is more than can be said for a lot of grounds!
The outside areas were also well laid out with staff on hand to answer any queries.
Finally, the ground inside is as impressive as it looks from outside. Padded seating is a luxury but as at most away games it was not used a great deal!
I would like to thank Brighton Football Club and staff for a memorable afternoon – although 3 points would have been a bonus..
Regards
Alan Taylor
The only positive surrounding the organisation for the Rod Stewart concert was the weather. But unlike the weather which was beyond any persons control, someone was in control for organising this event. There were seating changes because the stage was apparently larger than anticipated! Why would anyone start to sell tickets without knowing the position of the stage? But the worst was the exit strategy. Thousands of people were funnelled onto a ramp who at the top were then split by a few stewards to go either to the station or the university car park. This was to car parking which cost an extra £23. There was no signage to return to that car park and then what followed was ……… chaos. People waited in their cars over an hour to exit due to a jam. Who allows a stadium to be built without also creating the infrastructure to move the crowds? And who plans a concert without checking on this poor infrastructure? And who if they really wanted this venue with this poor infrastructure didn’t provide a traffic directing system? It was an organisational shambles with the only grace being the weather.