Residents baffled as Brighton Amex stadium lights up night sky

Residents from across the city were baffled to see the sky lit up on Friday night, with some taking to social media to express their confusion and concern.

One Moulsecoomb resident raised fears about the effect on the environment, particularly due to being in the South Downs dark skies area, while others said they have no issue with the lights.

The lights were so bright that one resident in Patcham mistook the glow for the Northern Lights.

Steve Geliot, who launched a petition in 2020 calling on Albion to “put that light out”, said that the issue with light pollution from the stadium is now “worse than ever”.

He said: “The club, which is otherwise well-run, refuses to do the right thing for our community.”

The petition, signed by more than 12,000 people, claims the light pollution has a “devastating impact on wildlife, as well as destroying the night sky for thousands of people”.

The glow from the stadium lit up the night sky on Friday evening (Image: The Argus/Andrew Gardner)

Albion were not playing on Friday night. It is understood that lights and heaters are often used at the Amex to help grass on the pitch grow.

Kirsty Gibbs, who signed the petition recently, said that the “bright orange glow” can be seen from her bedroom window.

She said: “Sometimes it is really bright - it lights up the sky all night and keeps us awake.

“I couldn’t care less about overpaid men kicking a ball about. There’s no thought for people’s well-being.

“Sleep is one of the most important things for a human being, not the condition of grass to kick a ball on.”

However, not everyone was angered by the orange glow in the skies above Brighton, with Marc Silver taking to social media to say: “Love it when it’s low cloud so the lights at the Amex do this - it’s great.”

Brighton and Hove Albion said they take their environmental responsibilities 'very seriously' (Image: The Argus/Andrew Gardner)

Brighton and Hove Albion said that they take their responsibilities for the environment “very seriously” but said it is “impossible for us to eliminate our environmental footprint altogether”.

A spokesman for the club said: “Like most businesses, the football club must balance its concern for, and responsibility to help protect, the environment with our need to practically run our business as a Premier League football club.

“With millions of pounds worth of athletic and footballing talent playing in each match, we must not only meet and maintain league regulations for the quality of our playing surface, but we also have a duty of care to our players and those of visiting teams.

“Our results on the pitch govern the overall health of our businesses, and with it the thousands of directly and indirectly created jobs, 90 per cent of which are local, not to mention the overall local economic impact - independently measured in excess of £600 million each year.

“In the winter months, whilst we may at times experience high rainfall and high winds, with little or no natural sunlight, a grass pitch misses a key element of its natural ability to regenerate and grow after use. We must therefore replicate that loss of light artificially.

“We will always limit the use of artificial light, but we are unable to further limit or eliminate its use completely. To do so, would be to significantly neglect the other responsibilities highlighted.”