[Albion] Was there a better site than Falmer

[Eeyore]

Not everyone agreed that Falmer was the best site. Even those of us who supported Falmer (we needed a ground). My preference was always Waterhall, although I'm guessing getting coaches etc in and out would have been an issue (not sure). I thought there was talk of a railway halt there too. But that may have been pie in the sky. Imagine the space though.

 

[Easy 10]

Falmer, for many reasons (transport being glaringly obviously one of them), is not ideal. Never was, never will be. Was there anywhere better? Don't know - many years since I lived in the area.

Name me another site that had a train station within a goal-kicks distance.

Its not the clubs fault that SASTA has crumbled to shit, post-covid in particular.

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

I don't think i ever really understood the arguments for any other site. Particularly Waterhall, which seemed quite popular. And that THV thread is mad, looking back.

In a fantasy land i do wish the whole thing had kickef off a couple of years earlier and we had a stadium behind Brighton Station. Just imagine

 

[GT49er]

Name me another site that had a train station within a goal-kicks distance.

Its not the clubs fault that SASTA has crumbled to shit, post-covid in particular.

I can't. I never suggested I could. Like I said, I haven't lived in Sussex for years and I don't know the area. But the fact remains that Falmer wasn't and isn't ideal.

 

[um bongo molongo]

Not everyone agreed that Falmer was the best site. Even those of us who supported Falmer (we needed a ground). My preference was always Waterhall, although I'm guessing getting coaches etc in and out would have been an issue (not sure). I thought there was talk of a railway halt there too. But that may have been pie in the sky. Imagine the space though.

Waterfall with a new station there always seemed like the logical option but it was ruled out for falling the wrong side of the Green belt lines I think. Walkable from the Withdean and we weren’t moaning about transport links there (just everything else).

But as others have said a ground at Falmer better than no ground

 

[GT49er]

I don't think i ever really understood the arguments for any other site. Particularly Waterhall, which seemed quite popular. And that THV thread is mad, looking back.

In a fantasy land i do wish the whole thing had kickef off a couple of years earlier and we had a stadium behind Brighton Station. Just imagine

The site of the former loco works and goods sidings? Yes, could have been potentially fantastic, I guess.

 

[Weststander]

I don't think i ever really understood the arguments for any other site. Particularly Waterhall, which seemed quite popular. And that THV thread is mad, looking back.

In a fantasy land i do wish the whole thing had kickef off a couple of years earlier and we had a stadium behind Brighton Station. Just imagine

I knew DK through the whole period. Waterhall wasn’t allowed under modern trains legislation, new stations have to a minimum x distance from tunnels. With the train tunnel under Mill Road, Waterhall would never be permitted to have a train station.

Meaning a now 31,800 folk would have to move through that tiny road tunnel.

 

[Beach Hut]

According to Perseus there was, Beeding Cement Works

The fact that he lives in Shoreham in no way swayed his influence for this

 

[um bongo molongo]

I knew DK through the whole period. Waterhall wasn’t allowed under modern trains legislation, new stations have to a minimum x distance from tunnels. With the train tunnel under Mill Road, Waterhall would never be permitted to have a train station.

Meaning a now 31,800 folk would have to move through that tiny road tunnel.

That’s interesting, thanks. Doesn’t feel like the most insurmountable challenge (move it up a bit and have people walk a few hundred metres), but I don’t really know what I’m talking about and am very grateful to the team who got us Falmer. But I do share the OP’s frustration, it’s a bitch to get to for me.

 

[Bozza]

In a fantasy land i do wish the whole thing had kickef off a couple of years earlier and we had a stadium behind Brighton Station. Just imagine

I'm not so sure...

A central location would make the transport plan even more reliant on rail, wouldn't it? Imagine that with the current standard of train services.

There are no available car parks for a decent number of cars, and no space to park numerous coaches.

Falmer has pretty decent road connections, being bang on the A27 - a central Brighton location wouldn't give you that. With any volume of additional football traffic, the whole area could be gridlocked for hours.

 

[Weststander]

That’s interesting, thanks. Doesn’t feel like the most insurmountable challenge (move it up a bit and have people walk a few hundred metres), but I don’t really know what I’m talking about and am very grateful to the team who got us Falmer. But I do share the OP’s frustration, it’s a bitch to get to for me.

Waterhall, from the 70’s, always made most sense to me, especially once the A27 was bulldozed through the countryside.

I asked DK and he dropped the legislation bombshell .

Waterhall would’ve been a walk for us!

 

[Silverhatch]

Tear down the Brighton Centre & Kingswest and a couple of the car parks and build a stadium on the seafront with a whole new imagining of a conference/entertainment/retail hub with the stadium at its heart. A project so transformative and grand in scale that it might even get green lit and financed.

 

[Weststander]

According to Perseus there was, Beeding Cement Works

The fact that he lives in Shoreham in no way swayed his influence for this

Mike Bamber wanted that, I remember images in the Argus.

 

[beorhthelm]

if only this had been discussed and a better alternative found. silly Dick Knight, finding us a location with a station immediatly adjacent, rather than half mile away.

 

[Scoffers]

There is no perfect site, there never was, place it in any of the other identified sites and we'd have just as many issues, just different ones.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Perfection is the enemy of adequacy

 

[The Grockle]

What about this site, definelty enough room for a stadium, central location... just need another 10 Caicedos and jobs a goodun.

On a serious note, a 30 plus thousand seater stadium somewhere in Brighton would have been a huge boost to the city economy but we'd never have got to that point without Falmer first. I wouldn't mind betting that when the Amex reaches the end of its life, the next stadium will be in central Brighton somewhere.

 

[peterward]

Falmer is a shit location.

Much better than. No location Though.

Falmer is crap (because of accessibility)

But it's still
10x better than Withdean
100x better than Gillingham
1000x better than Selhurst

 

[B-right-on]

According to Perseus there was, Beeding Cement Works

The fact that he lives in Shoreham in no way swayed his influence for this

God that would haven been horrendous. There's a Car Boot every few weeks in the summer, half way between the cement works and the flyover roundabout and it causes chaos for hours right upto and around the roundabout heading north and way past Dacre Gardens heading south. That's only for a couple of hundred cars and it jams the road up like nobodies business.

Falmer site is fine. The transport is fked and thats a separate issue that maybe someone could start a thread on? :

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Somewhere near Shoreham harbour.

Out to sea.

France?