Albion will extend the capacity of the Amex to 32,500 after being given the green light from Brighton & Hove City Council.

The plans will include a new external fan zone area, including kiosks, external toilets and a giant screen on the station Approach.

The works, some of which are already completed and others which will be take place over the short to medium term, are also set to include an extra stairway leading from the external concourse to the coach park; and a new gatehouse on Village Way.

After the government announced their roadmap out of the current lockdown last month, clubs are hopeful of being able to open stadiums at full capacity from the start of the 2021/22 season.

If this is the case Albion fans will benefit from more ticket availability from August when a newly increased capacity of 31,800 seats will be available.

Albion chief executive Paul Barber said: “This is a really positive move and fans will benefit from an even better matchday experience at the Amex in the future.

“These plans have been in place for some time, and initially we would have hoped to have seen supporters benefitting from them much sooner.

“Additional stadium seating was our priority, and the majority of this is now in place taking our capacity to just under 32,000, but the pandemic means we will phase other parts of our planned stadium work over time.

“We are now looking ahead with cautious optimism to next season when we hope we can welcome back fans and begin to enjoy the Amex experience again.”