[Albion] New fan zone - "The Terrace" [Opening 1/4/25 v Aston Villa]

[spoonie]

Does it say anywhere the Opening and closing time for 3pm Kick offs ? Dicks was great but used to kick everyone out before end of 5.30 game :-( and will they cancel the euro vision party of we get to the cup final

 

[Napper]

Just as a bit of devils advocate about having the upstairs for Amex card holders and it not being for everyone. For the past 14 years I’ve not been allowed in Dicks Bar on a match day because I take my children to the football and it was adults only, so that certainly wasn’t inclusive for everyone.

I’m quite excited for this and looking forward to it opening, and yes my wife and I both have Amex cards.

are kids allowed ?

im out

 

[boik]

Everyone seems to assume that the Amex exclusive area will in some way be better than downstairs. It might well be that it attracts "business" types up there, has little atmosphere, and is not the sort of place that I for one would like to go.

I don't know. Nobody does. But everybody seems to do an awful lot of assuming nowadays!

 

[Bob!]

@jackalbion It looks like from the plans and the photos that this area , sorry the "American Express Clubhouse Area" is a smaller upstairs bit - its not a 2nd floor , its a "mezzanine" /balcony space . You can see it quite well in this new mock up video via

https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/pages/en/stadium-developments?srsltid=AfmBOoqGvomRjBhfdVQvCn7wdmUbgwbR2EALW5-_CM1CZ_4_lWSoLAe2

Looks like there's a bar and more tables up there and that's where the band or DJ "stage" will be .

THere's some new mock up pictures on that page . Here's the only one giving you a view of the upstairs.

View attachment 197460

It certainly looks like the stage is part of the 'exclusive mezzanine area' and any bands only visible to those upstairs.

What I thought was going to be a fanzone with entertainment seems to be a foodhall with a seating/entertainment area for the few?

 

[Hotchilidog]

Everyone seems to assume that the Amex exclusive area will in some way be better than downstairs. It might well be that it attracts "business" types up there, has little atmosphere, and is not the sort of place that I for one would like to go.

I don't know. Nobody does. But everybody seems to do an awful lot of assuming nowadays!

I am not a business type. It's just a credit card.

 

[Clive Walker]

Still no mention of the roof top bar which I heard was happening. Perhaps this is the Amex only area.

 

[boik]

I am not a business type. It's just a credit card.

I know what it is. I also know the sort of people that I've met making a show of it. I worked in the banking and insurance sector my whole life and met a lot of people like that.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Maybe NSC could hire the entire thing for a long-overdue Mother Of All Meat-Ups sometime over the close season @Bozza?

 

[ManOnTheRun]

Still no mention of the roof top bar which I heard was happening. Perhaps this is the Amex only area.

From the Club website:

'On the mezzanine level of the Heineken Fan Zone will be the American Express Clubhouse, available to all American Express® Cardmembers along with up to three guests for each matchday (on a first-come, first-served basis) for fans wanting to immerse themselves in the matchday atmosphere.'

Not sure about a rooftop area.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm with you, quite clearly from my prior posts. However, we don't know the capacity split...

The indoor capacity is 1,000 (not 2-3,000), and for much of the football season, I assume it will be doors-closed indoors-only as it will be freezing and/or pissing it down.

The stated 3,000 capacity includes outdoor space and, as an aside, I'm interested to see how that is structured and managed given it feels like a bit of a pinchpoint in terms of crowd movement around the new building itself.

The fly-through video does make it look like the upstairs has more customer floorspace and seating, as a lot of the downstairs is taken up with kitchens and staff areas etc.

If the fly-through is an accurate representation of the final build. it looks like the Amex Clubhouse, if it takes up the entirety of the upstairs level, would be bigger than the general area.

Fair enough. If the club house is a bigger floor space than the rest, or even a 'significant' number of square metres, then this will be a bit shit.

Regarding your other point, I think the entire project will be interesting, the pinch points you mention, uptake of the AMEX lounge, general uptake, will it have the desired effect on train queues etc. A thumping victory in the warmer months is one thing, a miserable game in the winter less so. It cost a lot of money.

 

[ManOnTheRun]

Fair enough. If the club house is a bigger floor space than the rest, or even a 'significant' number of square metres, then this will be a bit shit.

From looking at the various renders/pictures throughout this thread the mezzanine level is quite clearly a smaller footprint than the downstairs area.

So unless the design has changed significantly it looks like there will be more space for those without Amex cards than those who have them.

 

[Uter]

So in the winter months, with the doors closed and 1000 capacity, 500 of those places will be reserved upstairs for Amex card holders and their mates? How is that going to make any kind of meaningful dent in the train queues?

I don't really understand the relevance of the "500 of those places will be reserved upstairs" part. There's no reason to assume that Amex card holders are less likely to be travelling by train. 1000 people in the facility will have the same impact on the queues regardless of the proportion with an Amex card.

I don't think 1000 people is an insignificant number. It's going to make a meaningful dent in the train queues even when the doors are closed I'd expect. I think this will appeal most to those travelling by rail, so the 1000 will be disproportionately be skewed towards those fans when compared to the matchday attendance as a whole. Time will tell I guess.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

From looking at the various renders/pictures throughout this thread the mezzanine level is quite clearly a smaller footprint than the downstairs area.

So unless the design has changed significantly it looks like there will be more space for those without Amex cards than those who have them.

Bozza suggesed downstairs might partially be taken up by kitchen and bar space? I hope this AMEX Club thingy is small though.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I don't really understand the relevance of the "500 of those places will be reserved upstairs" part. There's no reason to assume that Amex card holders are less likely to be travelling by train. 1000 people in the facility will have the same impact on the queues regardless of the proportion with an Amex card.

I don't think 1000 people is an insignificant number. It's going to make a meaningful dent in the train queues even when the doors are closed I'd expect. I think this will appeal most to those travelling by rail, so the 1000 will be disproportionately be skewed towards those fans when compared to the matchday attendance as a whole.

What exactly do you think is the capacity of those shitty little 3 carriage trains trundling pathetically towards Brighton every 20 minutes post-evening-match?

 

[Stuart Munday]

Fair enough. If the club house is a bigger floor space than the rest, or even a 'significant' number of square metres, then this will be a bit shit.

Regarding your other point, I think the entire project will be interesting, the pinch points you mention, uptake of the AMEX lounge, general uptake, will it have the desired effect on train queues etc. A thumping victory in the warmer months is one thing, a miserable game in the winter less so. It cost a lot of money.

Having looked at it the other week I would be amazed if all those long benches downstairs last long, the queues for the fish and chips etc nearly went to the ticket office and you would assume this would be busier. The area out the front hasnt got any bigger and I would assume they will need all the standing areas they can get.

 

[jackalbion]

I am not a business type. It's just a credit card.

It is just a credit card, but as much as anyone can get one, it does tend to be certain age/demographics that get one/know how to fill it out. I don't think that's needed to get the most of the facility is to do research and apply for a card.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

What exactly do you think is the capacity of those shitty little 3 carriage trains trundling pathetically towards Brighton every 20 minutes post-evening-match?

You're asking the right person. @Uter will know the exact capacity of each carriage....seated and standing, probably even knows the chassis number

 

[drew]

Everyone seems to assume that the Amex exclusive area will in some way be better than downstairs. It might well be that it attracts "business" types up there, has little atmosphere, and is not the sort of place that I for one would like to go.

I don't know. Nobody does. But everybody seems to do an awful lot of assuming nowadays!

Why do you assume it wouldn't be!!!!

 

[drew]

Haven't seen it said anywhere but will the opening of this facility have an impact on the concourses staying open after the game? WSU closes 30 minutes after final whistle!

 

[boik]

Why do you assume it wouldn't be!!!!

Ha ha! I didn't assume anything. The words "I don't know" , and "It might well be" are a clue.