Hove: The Goldstone Ground

Image: © Nigel Cox Taken: 20 Apr 1996

The home of Brighton and Hove Albion FC for 95 years from 1902 to 1997, the Goldstone was sold in 1997 by the then board of directors for a retail re-development of the site with no plans for an alternative stadium in Sussex for the club being in place. The Goldstone was unique in being the only Football League ground in Sussex and was a much-loved asset, having been visited by countless thousands of football fans down the years. In 1997 the pitch was ripped up and the stands and buildings demolished to be replaced by yet another bland cheerless and characterless retail park. This view was taken looking towards the North Stand after what was going to be the club's last but one home game, against Carlisle United, in 1996. In the event the club were subsequently allowed to stay on for another season, but the picture shows the weight of feeling at the time with numerous supporters demonstrating against the proposed closure, and venting their anger at the directors' box. After more than 8 years of a fragile, precarious, and peripatetic existence, planning permission for a new 23,000 seater community stadium at Falmer on the north eastern outskirts of Brighton was finally granted in October 2005, and it is hoped that the club will be able to play its first game there at the start of the 2008/09 season. Currently the club's home is the totally unsuitable Withdean Stadium, with its limited crowd capacity, open and exposed temporary stand seating, and Portakabin offices and facilities. See Simon's Image

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