Building the Amex: December 14th 2009

Between 2009 and 2011, the village of Falmer on the outskirts of Brighton was home to the most visited field in the country.

Why? Because this was where the Albion’s long awaited new home was being built. Slowly but surely, the construction of the 23,000 seat venue that would become the Amex Stadium was beginning to take place, nestled between university buildings, the A27 and the rolling South Downs.

We paid many visits to the site of the Amex Stadium during it’s construction and 10 years on, it’s fascinating to look back at some of the photos. It’s barely recognisable as the venue the Albion have now played more than 100 times at, including three seasons at the very pinnacle of the game.

Our second trip to Falmer came on December 14th 2009. Since our last visit on August 25th, much had changed on-the-pitch for the Albion. Russell Slade had been sacked as manager and Gus Poyet appointed in his place.

Poyet was only a month into the job at this point in time, but he was already busy setting the foundations in place for transforming Brighton’s playing style and fortunes.

Similar foundations were beginning to appear at the Amex Stadium construction site. The first pieces of the arch which would support the East Stand roof were being assembled and a bloody great crane was in place, ready and waiting to lift the arch into position.

The concreting of the lower tier of the East Stand had been completed and the steel work which would form the upper tier – which was added as part of the Amex Stadium expansion in the summer of 2012 – was beginning to be built.

The South Stand meanwhile was taking shape with the roof and concourse structure all in position. In the South West Corner, scaffolding was being erected ahead of work beginning on the construction of the West Stand.

Perhaps most excitingly of all, this visit showed us a new vantage point from which to view the construction process. Everyone knew about the prison-style windows built into the big blue fence surrounding the site which allowed people to see what was going on, a surprisingly forward-thinking move from the Albion and Buckingham, who were building the stadium.

We also discovered though that if you were willing climb over a rickety wooden fence and through a muddy field, you could get close to the back of the East Stand – close enough in fact to hear one of the builders merrily whistling I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles. Presumably, he’s been less happy when visiting the Amex with West Ham United over the past couple of years.

The club didn’t own the field in question at the time – they would eventually get their hands on it, concrete it over and rename it Bennett’s Field Car Park – which meant it was fair game in terms of access unless, the farmer or whoever owned it caught you.

It was only when we stood in Bennett’s Field that we truly appreciated just how big the Amex was going to be. It was towering, an impression which was later confirmed when we nipped for a cheeky pint or three in The Swan afterwards.

From the footbridge over the A27, it looked huge, looming over the road – and that was without the roof having been constructed. With Poyet at the wheel and the Amex now just 18 months away from completion, you couldn’t fail to be excited.