A Friday night away for Southampton fans, but at least it is a close one, however on the downside it makes it virtually impossible to get there and back on public transport on the same day.

The Stadium

We played our first game at the Amex almost 13 years ago in a defeat in January 2012 that saw Rickie Lambert sent off, since then 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.

Getting there by train is easy but blighted by long queues, as are the car parks and there are no pubs nearby or street parking.

Apparently at the moment they are currently in the process of putting in permanent fan zones, so it could be even more difficult to get a drink around the ground, until these are completed.

The Away Section

Saints fans will 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, although 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, but as mentioned there is work going on the improve it, 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 once you have gone through the tunnel after Shoreham, proceed on and 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

One suggestion is to park a stop or two on the train line going into Brighton from the stadium and get the train in from there, this will ease parking issues, but not the queuing for the train at the station.

Another suggested alternative is to continue on the A27 around 6 miles to Lewes and park at the station, the train journey takes about 10 minutes and is free as all local transport is usually included in the ticket price.

By Train

The direct train service from Southampton to Brighton is fine to get there, but going back the last train leaves somewhere around the time of the last whistle, so if you want to get it you would need to long before the final whistle.

You could get a train to Havant from Brighton at 10.40pm but even that would be a squeeze unless you left early to get to the head of the train queue

Some Saints fans coming from London or from the North of Hampshire may choose to travel on the route from Victoria to Brighton via Gatwick, you can get a train from Southampton Clapham and then change for Brighton, if you avoid the London terminals ie going into Waterloo or Victoria this is actually quite cheap, it can be around £35, but with a railcard or groupsave it reduces to £24. The journey time is still around 2/12 -3 hours allowing for the change at Clapham.

This route is faster if you live in Winchester or beyond and you could get back to Southampton using this route, but again it is tight to make the train and the only real option would be the train from Clapham at 1.10am(ish) that would not get to Southampton Central until around 2.35am

Although technically you could use your match ticket for travel from Heywards Heath, it is dearer to get a return to there than it is to Brighton.

Trains go 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. I have checked the prices and it is the same price to Brighton as it is to the most Westerly part of the transport area Worthing so there is nothing to be saved by buying a train ticket as far as there and then using your match ticket.

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, hence actually making a train that could get you home is slim unless you leave very early, 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 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 queuing.

It should be noted that some pubs next to Brighton Central station operate a home fans only policy, but walk a little further and there are plenty that do not.

Beer in the ground is a little expensive but 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.

Capacity: 30,750 (all seated)
Address: Village Way, Falmer, E Sussex, BN1 9BL
Telephone: 0344 324 6282
Fax: 01273 878238
Ticket Office: 0844 327 1901
Pitch Size: 115 x 75 yards
Pitch Type: Grass
Club Nickname: The Seagulls
Year Ground Opened: 2011
Undersoil Heating: Yes
Home Kit: Blue and White Stripes

All Photos Via Reuters

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