IN Brief:
- Brighton & Hove Albion plans a 10,000-capacity women’s football stadium at Bennett’s Field.
- The venue would sit next to the Amex Stadium and be connected by a new bridge link.
- The club aims to open the stadium no later than the 2030/31 season, subject to planning.
Brighton & Hove Albion has confirmed plans for a purpose-built women’s football stadium beside the American Express Stadium, creating a specialist venue project on the south coast.
The proposed stadium would be built at Bennett’s Field, a site acquired by the club in 2025, and is planned with a minimum capacity of 10,000. It would sit immediately next to the Amex Stadium and be physically connected to it by a new bridge link, allowing operations across both venues to be coordinated.
The sloping nature of Bennett’s Field is expected to support underground parking while maintaining level access for spectators. Planning approvals will be sought through Brighton and Hove City Council and Lewes District Council, with the club targeting an opening no later than the 2030/31 season.
The venue has been developed around a dedicated women’s football brief rather than the adaptation of an existing stadium. The design approach includes player facilities, changing rooms, recovery areas, pitch standards, family access, wider concourses, social spaces, and a matchday environment designed for regular use and broadcast presentation.
Design work is already underway, with further imagery expected as the project moves through the planning process. The club has positioned the stadium as part of its wider 2030 vision, following investment in dedicated training and administration facilities at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre in Lancing.
The scheme takes a right-sized approach to sports infrastructure, rather than simply expanding an existing stadium. Women’s football has often been staged either in large men’s stadiums that are difficult to fill consistently or in smaller shared grounds with limited specialist facilities. A dedicated 10,000-capacity venue creates a different design challenge, balancing operational efficiency, fan experience, accessibility, and future growth from the outset.
Sports buildings are also being pushed beyond raw capacity. Venue owners are focusing on formats that can support diverse audiences, non-matchday activity, media requirements, and stronger commercial use. In women’s sport, the quality of the built environment now feeds directly into player welfare, staff recruitment, supporter experience, and long-term revenue.
The proposal will bring planning, transport, parking, ecology, and local access issues into focus, particularly because the site sits next to an existing Premier League stadium. Construction phasing will have to account for matchday operations, public movement, and coordination between two venues on adjacent land.
If approved, the stadium would give Brighton a dedicated home for its women’s team and create a reference point for future women’s sports facilities in Europe. Its delivery will depend on converting a clear sporting brief into a building that can operate commercially, serve supporters well, and grow with the game.
