Brighton's day out puts pressure on Prescott
By Paul Hayward_
(Filed: 26/05/2004)
The Millennium Stadium has achieved such a hold on our imaginations that football fans are now drawn to it the way opera buffs are excited by La Scala or classical music lovers dream of seeing a concert at Carnegie Hall. Given the traffic around Cardiff, this is an architectural triumph for Wales.
The great cauldron on the banks of the River Taff has an allure all of its own, which is part of the reason why my local club, Brighton and Hove Albion, sold 25,000 tickets for Sunday's Division Two play-off final against Bristol City on the opening two days of trading.
Supporters now plan trips to the Gower peninsula around these games or stop off in Bristol or Bath to make a mini-holiday of them. It gives me no pleasure to point out that when Wembley is reopened, weekends in Wales will become a fading memory and the Millennium Stadium will have to find new ways to stay afloat.
There is another reason why the Brighton tickets sold so well. It is that the club are trapped at Withdean (capacity 7,000), waiting for John Prescott to decide on a stadium project at nearby Falmer after a planning inquiry (the council and an overwhelming majority of residents are in favour). The file has been on the Deputy Prime Minister's desk far too long, but at least a pageant of 32,000 Brighton fans making their way down the M4 might focus his mind on the club's urgent need for a decent home.
By Paul Hayward_
(Filed: 26/05/2004)
The Millennium Stadium has achieved such a hold on our imaginations that football fans are now drawn to it the way opera buffs are excited by La Scala or classical music lovers dream of seeing a concert at Carnegie Hall. Given the traffic around Cardiff, this is an architectural triumph for Wales.
The great cauldron on the banks of the River Taff has an allure all of its own, which is part of the reason why my local club, Brighton and Hove Albion, sold 25,000 tickets for Sunday's Division Two play-off final against Bristol City on the opening two days of trading.
Supporters now plan trips to the Gower peninsula around these games or stop off in Bristol or Bath to make a mini-holiday of them. It gives me no pleasure to point out that when Wembley is reopened, weekends in Wales will become a fading memory and the Millennium Stadium will have to find new ways to stay afloat.
There is another reason why the Brighton tickets sold so well. It is that the club are trapped at Withdean (capacity 7,000), waiting for John Prescott to decide on a stadium project at nearby Falmer after a planning inquiry (the council and an overwhelming majority of residents are in favour). The file has been on the Deputy Prime Minister's desk far too long, but at least a pageant of 32,000 Brighton fans making their way down the M4 might focus his mind on the club's urgent need for a decent home.
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