Brighton and Hove Albion's dream season left the club more than £1 million worse off, accounts published today have revealed.

The Seagulls' finances took a dive as the team completed their historic back-to-back leap up the league to Division One.

Bosses say the extra costs of playing in the higher division were not covered from takings at the turnstiles because of the limited 6,000 capacity at Withdean.

The team's trading loss in the year up to June 2002 was £357,000, more than double the £149,000 deficit of the previous year in Division Three.

This includes staff wages and player transfers.

A further £569,000 was spent on the planning application for a proposed new stadium at Falmer.

And £388,000 was written off towards previous years' developments at Withdean, pushing the club's expenditure to £1.3 million.

But there is also good news for fans.

Directors and investors, including DJ Norman Cook, pumped £4.5 million into the club.

Staff costs were kept down to 49 per cent of turnover, within the proposed salary cap for Football League teams.

And £650,000 was saved in a deal which saw former chairman Bill Archer finally sever his ties with the Albion. Bosses say that will free them up to make long-term investments securing the team's future.

But it is not known how the club has fared this year with even higher wages in the First Division, no increase in crowds at the already-bursting Withdean and the collapse of ITV Digital.

The Albion has also been represented at a costly public inquiry into the Falmer stadium plan - which directors say is crucial to the club's future and even its survival.

Albion finance director Bob Pinnock said the £4.5 million injection of cash proved the board's commitment to the long-term future of the team.

He said: "The previous proprietors of the club, headed by Bill Archer, never really wanted to commit money they were putting into the club for anything other than the short term.

"When we took over in 1997, we did not agree with this but Mr Archer had the ability to block any commitment and we were unable to do anything about it.

"When we negotiated the departure of Mr Archer, it freed us up and all the directors have committed to the club share capital. The purpose is to show investors in the club that we are committed to the long-term."

However, Mr Pinnock stressed how important it was for Falmer to go ahead, which would allow crowds of 23,000 instead of the 6,000 at Withdean.

More than £1.3 million has been spent on the proposals in the past four years.

He said: "It is disappointing that we were unable to contain the increased costs of playing in the Second Division.

"We played to sell-out crowds in our championship year in the Third Division and the capacity limitations at Withdean did not permit us to take advantage of the increased demand.

"It is vital that we maintain the club's buoyancy while awaiting the much-needed move to our larger permanent home."

The total revenue earned by the club rose by 21 per cent in the year to June 2002 but staff costs increased by 27 per cent.

Despite capacity crowds and promotion, commercial income was down by nine per cent, which Mr Pinnock said was partly influenced by the renegotiation of the NTL Football League web site deal.