The Amex

[twopintsnilnil]

The experience of an away ground, the people, the town, the rest of your week is of course coloured by the result, so I was always going to come away from my first trip to the Amex on a beautiful sunny day feeling charitable. However, what a stadium. Impressive both inside and out, clean as a whistle and with a fantastic sweep and grace to the architecture. It certainly knocks our rusting bowl sideways. Inside the ends are quite small which often gives a false impression on TV I think, with the impressive towering main stand not often appreciated

 

Also, the food stands around the ground are incredible. The burger van on the other side of the station has the best burger I've ever had at football, and coming away the fish and chips looked top quality for £6.

 

Has to be the best "new" ground in the country by a mile doesn't it?

[Whitey Grandad]

I was reasonably impressed. The seats were padded and comfortable but unfortunately the entire away end prefers to stand for the whole game so my seat wasn’t used much. After standing the whole way on the train I would have appreciated the chance to sit down. The view would have been the same whether you were sitting or standing once you get past 70 you tend to prefer to watch the game instead of the back of the head of the person in front of you.

 

Wouldn’t it be an idea to have ‘suggested’ standing and sitting zones when choosing your ticket.

[Tony F]

Yes the stadium has many plus points. But - looking at the wider picture - its bit like considering house buying.....location, location, location.

 

On the face of it, building a stadium near major road intersection looks a great idea, but in reality there is no generally available (ie for average punters) parking anywhere near the ground. The park and ride options are limited in number and the scrum for the buses after the final whistle can be horrendous - especially when its dark, teeming with rain etc. Public transport is pretty much the teeny trains running at 150% capacity. Yes you can walk (hike??) from town but in winter weather that might not be so attractive. And whats at/around the ground? Nothing apart from the stadium......

 

I would be interested to know how your arrival and departure went. My Uncle is a ST holder at AMEX and he really grinds his teeth at park and ride. Has to park up by about 2 hours before kick-off to get a space. And the scum to get back I've already described.

 

At least in Southampton, most people walk no more than 20 mins to get to the ground be it from town, major train station, across the Itchen, street parking options etc. There is never a real problem getting to or from in good time. And you can easily visit a pub or eatery as part of your day out...... I think that a really smart (usable) location has more advantages

[Shroppie]

I was reasonably impressed. The seats were padded and comfortable but unfortunately the entire away end prefers to stand for the whole game so my seat wasn’t used much. After standing the whole way on the train I would have appreciated the chance to sit down. The view would have been the same whether you were sitting or standing once you get past 70 you tend to prefer to watch the game instead of the back of the head of the person in front of you.

 

Wouldn’t it be an idea to have ‘suggested’ standing and sitting zones when choosing your ticket.

Agree it's a nice ground, albeit miles from Brighton. Both times I've visited I've had a pre-match drink in Lewes and gone by train to the ground from there - quieter than from Brighton.

 

Very unusually, fans around me actually sat for the majority of the game and I was happy to do the same.

 

A welcome, and very sensible gesture on a hot afternoon were the pint glasses of free tap water ready on bars after the game.

 

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[Kenilworthy]

Of new stadiums of equivalent size of think Stadium MK (however much I dislike MK Dons) is rather better. But despite its lack of architectural merit, St Mary's trumps most new grounds because it is actually part of the city, a few minutes walk from the centre and a reasonable distance from the main railway station.

[Kenilworthy]

Wouldn’t it be an idea to have ‘suggested’ standing and sitting zones when choosing your ticket.

 

There were seating only tickets available for this game in the raised section at the back. although limited in number and not that well advertised. My father in law, used to go to nearly every away game, but can't stand for long periods now. So this was a rare opportunity for him

[Yorkshire Saint]

Personally, I love the simplicity of our stadium. One level bowl all of the way around with no restrictions.. almost the original Wembley esq

[twopintsnilnil]

Arrival and departure absolutely fine. 5 minute queue at Brighton Station for a free train that essentially delivers you to your seat, and a 10 minute queue for a seat on another free air conditioned train back to Brighton afterwards. This does not rank as a hardship in my book. It takes me 15 minutes just to get out of St Mary's let alone get to any meaningful public transport to get out of Southampton. On the subject of decent eateries, you do realise that you are in central Brighton don't you? If you can't find decent food there then I can't imagine you'll find it anywhere. We live in London so obviously there was a train about every 5 minutes back. For me this was about the easiest away trip I've ever done. Even Palace, my local team is more hassle than Brighton. I can't comment on the park and ride arrangements other than to suggest public transport as an alternative which seems perfectly adequate. I appreciate other experiences may vary.

[angelman]

I went to the 2nd Round League Cup game last season, again on a bright sunny day.

 

The ground is a pain to get to, but not burdensome. I understand why it is placed where it is, but its pretty awful being stuck out in the middle of a field. Ground is nice from the outside - as I was there a bit early, I walked around it a couple of times and the benefits of being stuck out in a field allow for a bit of design to go into it. I felt it pretty nasty inside, and while the architecture of SMS is about as functional as you can get, I just felt the Amex was style over substance, at least behind the goals it was.

 

And getting away after the game is of course not great.

 

But they had nice pies and I guess padded seats are nice.

[Whitey Grandad]

Agree it's a nice ground, albeit miles from Brighton. Both times I've visited I've had a pre-match drink in Lewes and gone by train to the ground from there - quieter than from Brighton.

 

Very unusually, fans around me actually sat for the majority of the game and I was happy to do the same.

 

A welcome, and very sensible gesture on a hot afternoon were the pint glasses of free tap water ready on bars after the game.

 

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Yes, glass of water was a pleasant surprise. I went to the bar asking for a bottle of water and got given a large free plastic ‘glass’.

 

I spent some time looking at the stadium structure and wondering how it could be increased. I imagined them jacking up the east stand somehow and tilting the ends up somehow.

 

The stands behind the goals looked a bit restricted to me compared to other modern stadiums. Acoustically I thought it was lacking somewhat but that may have been because our own supporters drowned out the opposition.

[Graffito]

I went to the 2nd Round League Cup game last season, again on a bright sunny day.

 

The ground is a pain to get to, but not burdensome. I understand why it is placed where it is, but its pretty awful being stuck out in the middle of a field. Ground is nice from the outside - as I was there a bit early, I walked around it a couple of times and the benefits of being stuck out in a field allow for a bit of design to go into it. I felt it pretty nasty inside, and while the architecture of SMS is about as functional as you can get, I just felt the Amex was style over substance, at least behind the goals it was.

 

And getting away after the game is of course not great.

 

But they had nice pies and I guess padded seats are nice.

 

Stuck in the middle of a field? It’s on the edge of the South Downs, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Didn’t you notice? This accounts for the design of the stadium.

 

As said above, free public transport is no hardship. Brighton’s a really good away day.

[Whitey Grandad]

Stuck in the middle of a field? It’s on the edge of the South Downs, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Didn’t you notice? This accounts for the design of the stadium.

 

As said above, free public transport is no hardship. Brighton’s a really good away day.

 

I would agree except for the overcrowded trains from Southampton. For the return there was an extra four-coach service laid on at 18:06 which was very welcome. The first stop was Havant. I don’t know why there couldn’t have been an extra one put on in the morning or at least a longer train. We were so crowded that we were stopping at most stations where no one got off and no one got on.

 

Yes - the South Downs looked nice.

[twopintsnilnil]

I would agree except for the overcrowded trains from Southampton. For the return there was an extra four-coach service laid on at 18:06 which was very welcome. The first stop was Havant. I don’t know why there couldn’t have been an extra one put on in the morning or at least a longer train. We were so crowded that we were stopping at most stations where no one got off and no one got on.

 

Yes - the South Downs looked nice.

 

That doesn't sound great. I'll admit, definitely easier from London.

[Whitey Grandad]

That doesn't sound great. I'll admit, definitely easier from London.

 

Yes, probably worth paying the extra and going via Clapham Junction.

[angelman]

Stuck in the middle of a field? It’s on the edge of the South Downs, an area of outstanding natural beauty. Didn’t you notice? This accounts for the design of the stadium.

 

As said above, free public transport is no hardship. Brighton’s a really good away day.

 

Yes, I did, and drove through most of the Downs to avoid Chichester which was blocked (this is last August). But it is stuck in the middle of a field (obv not quite literally but not far off) with a few house to the north of it and the road/railway (Falmer) and a few buildings of the Uni to the south. I said that the outside was nice and had been designed well, I'm not denying that, but I just didn't like the interior that much. Behind the goal was pretty nasty but the side swoops looked nice.

 

And there is no free transport for Cup games, and I'll stand by it being a pain (albeit not overly burdensome) to have to take a train to get there and back. But life is about compromise, and the B&HA to get their ground, that is the compromise they have to make.

[whelk]

Lovely stadium and great away day. Fck me the train out from Brighton is so easy. Also all bars in ground open after game so we had one there to let crowd die down.

 

Perfect day in sunshine with 3 points.

[SW5 SAINT]

The experience of an away ground, the people, the town, the rest of your week is of course coloured by the result, so I was always going to come away from my first trip to the Amex on a beautiful sunny day feeling charitable. However, what a stadium. Impressive both inside and out, clean as a whistle and with a fantastic sweep and grace to the architecture. It certainly knocks our rusting bowl sideways. Inside the ends are quite small which often gives a false impression on TV I think, with the impressive towering main stand not often appreciated

 

Also, the food stands around the ground are incredible. The burger van on the other side of the station has the best burger I've ever had at football, and coming away the fish and chips looked top quality for £6.

 

Has to be the best "new" ground in the country by a mile doesn't it?

 

Agree the Amex is pretty special, but the Tottenham stadium will blow you away......

[Faz]

Agree the Amex is pretty special, but the Tottenham stadium will blow you away......

 

I’ve not been to either, but I’m sure you’re right. The Amex is 10 years newer than SMS, and cost 4 times as much to build. Funded of course by Tony Bloom who has provided loans of £222m, they are unsecured and at zero interest. Lucky Brighton. Unlikely Bloom will ever Make a return on his investment, not that it appears he’s bothered about that. Given their previous owners BHA hit the jackpot with Bloom.

 

WHL is a whole different league.

[LVSaint]

 

I would be interested to know how your arrival and departure went. My Uncle is a ST holder at AMEX and he really grinds his teeth at park and ride. Has to park up by about 2 hours before kick-off to get a space. And the scum to get back I've already described.

 

 

The park and rides on Mill Road and Lewes Road are smaller and fill up fast I read.

 

I used the bigger Racecourse park and ride. Easy to get in and out of, but the sweaty ride on the bus to the ground took about 40 minutes (slowed down to a crawl the closer to the Amex we got). Still, leaving was quick and the journey through Brighton to the M23 was fast...unlike trying to get back to the M3 after a Saints home game.