Brighton confirm plans for first purpose-built women’s stadium in Europe | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed plans for the first purpose-built women’s football stadium in Europe.

The club are aiming for the stadium to open no later than the 2030/31 season, which will be specifically built with bespoke facilities for the players, staff and fans.

The site which sits adjacent to the American Express Stadium was acquired in 2025, and will be designed with a minimum capacity of 10,000.

After finishing ninth in the 2023/24 Women’s Super League season, Dario Vidisic led the Seagulls to their best ever season in 2024/25, finishing fifth in his first season at the helm. This year, they sit sixth and have ambitions to push the top teams even further.

The improved results are partnered with the club’s long-standing commitment to the women’s and girls’ teams. They had already invested heavily in their dedicated facilities at their training centre in Lancing, just 20 minutes to the west of the stadium site. 

The new stadium will be physically connected to the Amex via a new bridge link. The ‘built for her’ philosophy means the stadium will be built around the needs of female athletes and the culture and demographic of the women’s game.

Chairman Tony Bloom said: “Since we announced our intention to build a stadium for the women’s team in Brighton and Hove, we have seen unprecedented interest locally, nationally and internationally. It is a topic I am regularly asked about by many of our fans, clearly indicating the growing level of interest and potential for women’s football. 

“It is a significant further investment in our long term vision for women’s football at Brighton & Hove Albion. A women’s stadium in the city is essential to the continued growth of the team. We strongly believe it will strengthen our ability to attract elite talent, help develop our younger players for the future, support the growth of our fan base, and create a genuine sense of belonging around the women’s game.” 

Chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber added: “This new stadium is a powerful statement of our ambitions and will be integral to driving further momentum for the growth of women’s and girls’ football, not just in the UK but across the world. 

“With a capacity aligned to Women’s Super League regulations, the stadium reflects our clear belief in ‘right sizing’ the stadium to grow the fan base sustainably.

“A stadium ‘built for her’ is not only a significant capital investment for the club but one which we know will also benefit the city and other areas around the stadium through the creation of local construction jobs, apprenticeships and training opportunities for local people; further boosting the club’s already significant contribution to the local economy, and at a time when there is a great deal of economic uncertainty.”