Amex (Falmer) Stadium - Brighton and Hove Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur

Saturday 30th July 2011

Being a Spurs fan, when i saw that we had been chosen to open the Amex Arena, i decided right away that this was a game i would want to attend. The local council, in their wisdom, had denied The Seagulls the opportunity of a proper home in the seaside town since they left The Goldstone Ground in 1997, so it was sure to be a sell out.

As it was, Spurs were given a much reduced allocation (1200 - despite the away stand holding more than twice that - and again this was a council decision), so it would prove difficult to get my hands on a brief in the Spurs end. They ended up selling out to Season Ticket holders with a very high loyalty point total, so right away i started looking at the other options, and eventually ended up with a couple of seats in the North Stand, amongst the home fans, at the opposite end of the ground from the visiting fans.

 North West Corner

 View from Falmer Rail Station

 Within the Concourse in The South Stand

 From North Stand looking towards the South (away) stand

East Stand

 

Half empty South Stand (due to a council reduction)

Even after the hassle involved booking the tickets in the home end (they had been pending due to some security checks and were only received the day before we were leaving Perth), myself and Willie were full of excitement as we boarded the overnight Megabus to London. The journey down was as long as ever but was fun filled as a young Chelsea fan and his mum provided a good few laughs for most of it.

We arrived at London Victoria around 7am, and started to head up to our hotel in Enfield to get a shower before making the trip South to Brighton. Getting from Enfield to Brighton proved a real pain as Kings Cross Tube Station had been shut, which meant our path to London Bridge Station had to be changed and after much delay, many tubes and a fair bit of worry later we were finally on the train to Brighton.

We decided to head straight for Falmer rather than hanging around Brighton, so we could take in the new ground and have a pint at The Stadium. The trains between Brighton and Falmer were regular but still very crowded and this is one of the few complaints about the new ground that there is few other ways to get there, with parking restrictions and the like around the area.

As soon as you get off the train at Falmer the ground stands out, perched up on it's pedestal, looking proud, and it's an immediately impressive Stadium. After queuing for a programme, we headed into the ground. Rather than traditional turnstiles it has large exit/entry doors, with quite an open plan feel about it. 

It has been really well designed, with the fans in mind. There is so much room within the concourses, where there is a decent amount of food and drink available, although the prices were fairly reasonable for an English ground, with a burger and pint deal setting you back about £7.00. (Though i had won a free burger in the Hat - trick draw!)

The seating areas are also top drawer, with plenty of leg room and padded seats throughout, and although this gives a slight feeling of the prawn sandwich brigade, it's certainly a comfortable way to watch football when you are forced to sit.

The game itself was also a cracker, as far as pre - season friendlies go, with Spurs eventually running out 3-2 winners with goals from Kaboul, Corluka and an impressive Jake Livermore enough to see off The Seagulls who had scored through Ashley Barnes and Kazenga LuaLua. Craig Mackail-Smith had been a stand out for the home side.

Getting back to Brighton was a bit of a nightmare with so many folks wanting to go the same way although i am sure that it's something they will sort out in time. 

Once back in Brighton we headed for a Subway, before some beers were bought for the train back to London where we had a few drinks around Soho and Piccadilly Circus before eventually succumbing to tiredness and retiring back to the digs in Enfield for the evening.

All in all a great day out at a really nice modern Stadium, with a decent game of football thrown in. Hopefully Gus Poyet and his players can continue their recent rise and pop up in The Premier League in the near future, so that another visit can be made. I would certainly recommend a trip here to anyone.

 West Stand

 West Stand again

 Teams coming out

 The Spurs Fans

Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the ball

VITAL STATS

Brighton 2 Spurs 3

Crowd -

Ticket Price - £21.70

Programme - £3.00

RATINGS

Journey - 6/10

The game - 7/10

Value for money - 7/10

Programme - 7/10