Brighton chief executive lays out plans for Amex Stadium upgrades and 'Tunnel Club' experience

Barber spoke on the Albion Roar podcast about plans for a new hospitality experience called the Tunnel Club, becoming only the the third club in England to have such a facility, after Tottenham and Manchester City.

Barber said: “Our new tunnel club will be a new experiential hospitality experience that will take fans to the very heart of our matchday football operations in the tunnel area, with seats behind our dugouts.

“Only Manchester City and Tottenham have one in this country, it will be a great immersive hospitality facility for people to enjoy at the Amex, which we haven't been previously able to provide.”

Barber also said on the podcast that the club would be improving the signage and ‘way finding’ around the stadium, as well as moving ahead with plans for a covered fan-zone area outside the ground.

The Albion chief executive explained: “We are then looking at improving the external parts of the stadium, so moving ahead with plans for the fan zone. We want to improve the way finding, how to get around the stadium and the look and feel of the signage.

“We want to Albion-ise the stadium a bit more, I think we have a lot of grey, concrete mass here, which isn't particularly attractive.”

Barber did also explain that some of these developments will not be finished until the summer of 2024, which will include improvements to the internal aspects of the stadium.

He said on the podcast: “11-12 years into the stadium’s life we feel we are due an upgrade in terms of how we look and how we present ourselves to the outside world.

“Some of the fact will start in terms of preparation and that will continue into next summer and also in the summer after.

“Its a big project, like painting the fourth bridge, it doesn't happen overnight. There is a lot of work going on and I think over the next 18 months people will see quite a significant transformation.

“The internal parts of the stadium will be the second part of the project. I think when you get into the stadium, most people’s eyes are fixed on the grass and so they should be. That’s where the drama and theatre is, but we still want to make sure the experience prior to and after that.

“The main thing I hear since joining this club a decade ago is that people can’t meet with friends and family from different part of the stadium to have a drink and something to eat in a comfortable environment.

"I want to change that, I don’t think we will ever be able to build lounges big enough for people to mix in. That’s not the way the stadium model was built. But we can equip better outdoor areas, where kids and different generations can meet, regardless of where they sit in the stadium.

"They can get better access to better food, better drinks and toilets whilst under cover, they are the plans we are looking at.”

Brighton chief executive lays out plans for Amex Stadium upgrades and 'Tunnel Club' experience

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