Verdict 16th July. Opening game at falmer/Amex

[Clive Walker]

Well
Queued for an hour to get a burger which was actually worth the wait. Seat on upper west had fantastic view. The 7k fans made enough noise to prove that the atmosphere is going to be mental when full. Stadium looks amazing!

Fantastic day for all brighton fans

Overall opinion and verdict is amazing!

 

[algie]

Did you go into the club shop and what did you make of it?

 

[BHAMAN]

You seriously queued an hour for a burger?

 

[Clive Walker]

I did queue as I was starving and wanted to wait to see the pitch for as long as I could hold on for. Otherwise I would have just stood around. No issue anyway.

Club shop was good, spacious and good to get out of the rain. Needed to pick up tickets, staff decent and helpful

 

[shaolinpunk]

I thought that the crowd was pretty muted, mainly because it wasn't a game people really cared about. However, when there was noise it seemed to carry really well. Not sure any burger is worth waiting an hour but then they only had a selection of the food kiosk things open didn't they? Transport after the game wasn't as painful as I expected - got the train and yeah it was sardines in a carriage, but the trains were very frequent which kept the queues moving and will be longer when it is a proper game.

 

[Aseros]

They need more staff if they can't cope with people queuing for burgers! at only 7,000 capacity. I thought my 45 minute wait at Walsall was bad enough and that was between 4,000 of us.

 

[robindurant]

Stadium great. Park and Ride worked well. Catering DON"T ASK I left the match 5 mins early to get a Burger and missed the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Burger was crap and cost £4.00.One man brought his back and threw and threw it across the counter. I binned mine, the 2 small onion rings in it were raw. The caterers were totally out of their depth. There was two of the refreshment outlets open but under half of those who will attend on match days. They must get it right or bring back the Withdean caterers

 

[shaolinpunk]

There needs to be a clock on the screens with the score. Can't fathom why there isn't.

 

[ROSM]

They will get quicker. A mix of new staff and people using cash and being unsure in queues all adds up. We had a 15 min queue in the east which was at best a quarter full buy with only half the serving positions open. The Harveys sales slowed thing down so when they get used to demand they may pre pour some to speed that up. It's a learning point and may take 4 or 5 games to get better

Oh and agree about the need for a clock

 

[trancing]

There needs to be a clock on the screens with the score. Can't fathom why there isn't.

said that about 2 mins into the game

 

[Seasider78]

The whole point of these ramp up events is to iron out the issues and I am sure the catering companies have learnt a few lessons today ready for the coming season

 

[Kneon Light]

Facilities great and the club shop looked really good (although not fully stocked yet).
The noise really carried and when there were only about 15 people singing it was noisier than Withdean ever was.
Food was mixed and the service was awful. Was front of the queue and it still took her 10 mins to do my order. The hot dogs were stone cold (took them back and complained - got given 2 more cold ones!).
Wanted a drink at half time but didn't fancy queuing for half an hour (at least) to be served.
Hopefully the big screen will be used for more than just showing the score when we play league games.
Also Why no clock in the whole stadium??

 

[robindurant]

Clock. yes please. I keep looking up for one a habit formed at Withdean

 

[Giraffe]

All great with the exception of:

Clock needed on scoreboard.
More kiosks need opening which begs the question do they need more kiosks over all?
Some sound problems

North Stand 1 West Stand Upper 0 in the singing cup!

 

[Comedy Steve]

I just got back. Echo the stuff on here: A clock please, and also I queued for 40 mins for a pie, only to find they'd ran out of veg ones. I had a steak one instead and the woman looked at me as if she thought I'd decided to give up vegetarianism there and then (I'm not a vegetarian). My mate Simon however is a veggie and the only thing he could eat was a packet of wine gums! The staff looked so flustered I kept checking to see if it was an episode of The Apprentice.

Overall brilliant though - cracking stuff.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

There needs to be a clock on the screens with the score. Can't fathom why there isn't.

Thats a good point. There does need to be a clock, for the fans and for the players.

 

[Beach Hut]

Definitely need a countdown clock and catering must be quicker as in West Stand Upper it was seriously slow.

Noise carried brilliantly and a packed stadium will be rocking.

Was that Mike Ward doing the PA first, if it was he can f*** off now

And fecking well remove that Leon Knight legend effort outside West Stand as he is not a legend but a complete bellend

 

[gripper stebson]

It is amazing. I got quite emotional when we got to the seats!

Its gonna F**CKING ROCK when its full. North Stand did all the signing with the occasional 'Seagullls' from the WSU.

Waited 20 minutes for a lovely pie and pint.

Trains out seemed really efficient. I live is Seaford and it was 55 minutes from final whistle to front door.

 

[Marc1901]

Queued for about 20-30 mins for ticket outside, about 10-15 mins for a pint which was pretty stupid. Went down just before the final whistle and didn't get served until the players came back out. All in all a good day though and was pretty enjoyable.

 

[The Grockle]

My own thoughts.....

Transport. Got to the ground about an hour before KO and the train was pretty empty, really easy total journey time less han an hour door to door.

Stadium exterior. Probably the best looking and well finished stadium i've been to, in the words of Richard Attenborough in jurrasic park 'no expense spared' Really impressed.

Stadium interior. Despite having a slightly unfinished look, what a sight. I've no doubt it will be one of the best looking stadiums in the country if its ever finished. Sight lines are as promised, spectacular! Seats were amazing despite being somewhat smaller than those at the emirates, much more comfortable. Overall exceeded my expectations.

Atmosphere/acoustics. The atmosphere was flat which i guess is to be expected considering the game and attendance but th noise generated from the north stand was quite surprising given it was about 10 % full, i've no doubt it will absolutely rock when full. Very impressed, the west upper acoustics should be very good as well although it seemed a little subdued ( i guess there wsnt many up there?)

Food/drink. I had the thai curry which although a bit pricey at 9.50 with a beer was pretty decent and a good size. Beer i had with it was good. I thought it would be rude not to try the pies and as reported here they are fantastic, by far the best pie ive had at a stadium and one of the best ive ever had! Had a harveys with it and that was decent. Had to wait a looong time to be served which was a little annoying but i'm sure they'll speed up. Overall very impressed.

Toilets. A toilets a toilet imo but did the job and there was piping hot water which is a rarity, clean too.