A Rough Guide To Brighton Tuesday, 24th Oct 2017 10:39 Saints travel to the Amex Stadium for only their second competitive visit, read on all the information you will need if you are making the trip along the South Coast. The Stadium Since our last league game there almost six years ago the stadium has been modified to increase the capacity to 30,750, but although it cannot be denied that this is a nice stadium to watch football in, it's location marks it down heavily in the scoring of top football grounds. It opened at the start of 2011/12 season and that was the year of our only competitive visit when we went down 3-0 with Rickie Lambert sent off, although this would prove to be only a blip on our promotion campaign. The Away Section Saints fans wil be in the East section of the stadium, this is the farthest point of the ground from Falmer railway station. The view is pretty good with plenty of legroom and padded seats, not that many away fans sit these days. The concourse is a bit cramped, but the on site catering is excellent with local products rather than the usual chain manufactured pukka pies etc. They also open the bars after the game to encourage supporters to have a drink and give a little time to clear the roads and the station, this is with good reason. After the game they show football on the TV screens and also show the departing train times so you know when to leave. Pubs For Away Fans There is little in the area and this is the big drawback for the ground, it is a decent stadium, but it is in the middle of nowhere, the nearest pub is 15 minutes walk away and that is home fans only. There is however a fan zone outside the ground that sells beers, although a word of caution from other fans who have used it is that there are no toilets, so if you want to go to the loo you have to go inside the ground and will not be able to get back out. Getting There By Road The stadium is located at Falmer on the outskirts of Brighton, very close to the University of Sussex. Saints fans should take the A27 and stay on it towards Lewes. The stadium is on the North East side of Brighton, so is a fairly long drive after going through the tunnel after Shoreham, you will see it approximately four miles after the London turn off on your right hand side. Leave at the A27 and take the slip road sign posted Falmer (B2123). At the top of the slip road turn right crossing back over the A27 and the entrance to the stadium is down on the right. Parking There is no parking for away fan cars at the stadium and there is also a big no parking zone strictly enforced around it, although there are several unofficial car parks nearby which charge around £15 and take ages to get out of. Brighton encourage away fans to use the Park & Ride services located at three different locations; Mill Road (BN1 8ZF), Brighton Racecourse (BN2 9XZ) and Mithras House at Brighton University (BN2 4AT). The Mill Road one is probably the most convenient for Saints fans. The cost of this is included in your match ticket Another suggested alternative is to continue on the A27 around 6 miles to Lewes and park as the station, the train journey takes about 10 minutes and is free as all local transport is included in the ticket price. By Train There are direct trains to Brighton from Southampton and they take about 1hr 50 mins, the cost is only £15 and cheaper with a network railcard, however they are run by Southern Railways and so there could be late cancelations so check the times before you go and leave yourself plenty of time to get there. The train goes into Brighton Central Station which is four miles from the ground, from there you can get a train to Falmer Station which is only around 250 metres from the ground, the price of the train is included in the match ticket so there is no need to get a ticket past Brighton Central. Beware though as kick off time nears the queues for the trains get bigger and there can be a long wait. Likewise after the game the queue can take an hour, that is why so many Brighton fans and away supporters prefer to have a drink at the ground and let the queue die down . as mentioned this can be over an hour, perhaps longer as there will be a Sunday service on the trains. As mentioned earlier after the game they show football on the TV screens and also show the departing train times so you know when to leave to catch a train. Drinking, Eating Etc. With so little around the stadium many away fans prefer to go into Brighton and get the train out, however these start to build early so an alternative would be to get a cab out to the ground, probably around £15 but a saving on time and queueing. It should be noted that some pubs nect to Brighton Central station operate a home fans only policy, but walk a little further and there are plenty that do not. If you are coming by car then the early kick off means that there will be little time for a drink, best advice is perhaps a quick drink in the fans zone and then one in the stadium. Beer in the ground is £4.20 a pint, Brighton is a dear place to drink anyway so this is not that much more expensive than you would pay in a pub in the centre. Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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