Businesses are spending more than £500,000 a week to secure a piece of Brighton and Hove Albion’s Falmer dream.

Every corporate package for the stadium is expected to be snapped up before the start of the new season as business bosses race to get involved.

Demand for membership of the exclusive 1901 Club has exceeded all expectations, with 100 businesses and individuals joining every week – worth an average of more than £5,000 over the next five years.

Despite the current economic climate, all 14 corporate boxes and 900 platinum packages sold out in days, while there are just a few hundred gold packages left.

More than £1 million has already been raised for the club’s coffers.

When all 2,075 premium seats are sold they will bring in about £11 million over the next five years.

Ken Sharp, head of sales at Empire Stadium, which is looking after the Albion’s commercial activities, said the level of interest had “blown staff out of the water”. He said: “We hoped to be approaching 1,000 sales by December but at this rate we will sell out within eight weeks.”

Mr Sharp has worked on behalf of several clubs, including Hull City, Cardiff City and Gloucester Rugby Club, and said demand for Albion packages was “without a doubt”

greater than he has ever experienced.

He said. “The people of Brighton have had to put their love for their club on hold but now they are coming back in droves.”

By the time the 22,000-capacity, £93 million stadium opens in summer 2011, Mr Sharp said he expected “hundreds”

of businesses to be on the waiting list for corporate packages.

Martin Perry, the club’s chief executive, has been hosting tours of the stadium to attract interest.

One of the latest saw the visit of 50 business leaders from Cadia, the business association of the Gatwick Diamond area. Members were so impressed they bought more than 20 gold packages. Jeremy Taylor, chief executive of Cadia, said: “The 1901 Club match day hospitality offer is so good, with quality rivalling any Premiership club, that lots of our members snapped up seats right away and I suspect others will be going back to book theirs soon.”

Membership of the 1901 Club was opened to “friends and family” of the Albion in February and among the first people to join were celebrity fans Norman Cook and Des Lynam.

The scheme is now open to any business and individual, with Lewes-based accountancy firm Knill James among the first to take advantage.

Nick Lawson, partner at the firm, was delighted to secure four platinum packages and described the stadium as “the best outside London”.

He said: “We had a visit and it looks fantastic. We consider ourselves a regional accountancy firm and obviously Brighton is the regional hub so this will be a really good opportunity to meet other SMEs and their clients.”

Mr Perry said: “The response to the premium seat packages has been overwhelming and extremely encouraging. We are delighted with the excitement around the whole stadium development.”

1901 Club members can buy long-term licensed ownership of luxurious padded seats with some of the best views of the pitch, which come with allocated parking and access to 11 bars and nine lounges selling alcohol and fine food.

For details about corporate seats, call 0845 5041901 or email 1901@bhafc.co.uk.