As a member of the Ninety-Two Club, a club for people who have visited each of the ninety-two gounds of the Premiership, Championship, League One and Two,  I was anxious to visit Brighton’s new American Express Community Stadium.

I travelled from London by train, changing at Lewes. As there is no suitable pub near the ground I used the Royal Oak in Lewes for pre-match refreshment. Many Brighton fans also use the Lansdown Arms. Both of these are situated five minutes walk from the station turning right out of the exit. The Lansdown is at the foot of the hill and The Royal Oak two minutes walk further up the hill.

I had pre-ordered my ticket and collected it two and a half hours before the game. By the time I returned forty minutes before kick off the queue for pre-ordered tickets was two hundred yards long. The general ambience of the ground is extremely good. I was in the East Stand where there is plenty of room and plenty of food and drink outlets. The seats are padded and comfortable. The leg room again is comfortable. The site lines from the side are straight, meaning that your view at the near side of the far end of the pitch can be easily obscured by people standing or leaning across your line of vision, but this is a minor inconvenience.

After the match had ended , the trains from Lewes and Brighton were full and standing for sometime before the match but these are only short journeys. By train, Falmer station is seven minutes from Lewes and fifteen minutes from Brighton. It should be noted that particularly in the evening it is usually far quicker to return north via Brighton as the north-bound trains are much more plentiful as opposed to Lewes. There is an excellent tea bar outside the main entrance of Falmer station. Tea 70p and bacon baps £2.

Mike Kimberley
Ninety-Two Club, Secretary