The first purpose-built stadium in Europe for women’s football is being built in the UK – the £80 million venue will have 10,000 seats

Women’s football in the UK continues to go from strength to strength. The Lionesses have taken home two Euros titles in the last five years and came inches from glory in the 2023 World Cup, beaten narrowly by Spain in a nail-biting final. And it’s not just thriving for the pros: the number of self-identifying women’s sports fans is on the rise, up 33 percent in the last half decade alone, according to new research by BBC Sport and YouGov.

Female footy is still played on pitches designed for the men’s game – but that’s about to change. Brighton & Hove Albion has broken ground with plans for a new purpose-built women’s football stadium. It’ll be the first ever ground dedicated to the women’s game in the UK and Europe, and one of only three venues of its kind in the world. 

BHA first announced plans for the stadium in 2023. Now, the club has said that if plans are approved by neighbouring authorities of Brighton and Hove City Council and Lewes District Council, the venue will be ready in time for the 2030/31 season.

Albion WFC fans won’t have to shlep the 20 miles to Crawley to catch a game, because the new venue is being constructed at Bennett's Field, a site adjacent to the Amex Stadium. The two venues will be physically linked by a bridge, and the new site will offer underground parking thanks to the sloping nature of its location.

The club has said that the new venue will be ‘designed around the needs of female athletes and the distinct needs and culture of the women's game rather than be an adaptation of a venue that was designed for male athletes historically and typically supported by a male-dominated audience’.

Changing rooms, pitch standards and recovery spaces will cater specifically to female players. 

Once built, the stadium will have capacity for 10,000 fans. The designs focus on providing easy access for families and first time attendees, with in-built breastfeeding rooms, baby changing areas and 'buggy parks' for prams. It’ll be built with wider concourses than the men’s stadium, upping the number of social spaces and boosting the vibes on match-days with music and entertainment. 

The club will share more detailed imagery publicly as the project moves through the planning process, so we’re keeping our eye on the developments.

The only other stadiums constructed specifically for women’s teams are both in the US – the CPKC Stadium in Missouri and a stadium in Colorado for Denver Summit Football Club, which is still in development.

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