Fans thanked for stadium support

Fans have marched past the conference venue two years in a row

Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Dick Knight has thanked the club's fans for a "fantastic turnout" at Monday's march in favour of a new stadium.

Police said about 4,000 football supporters marched past the Brighton Centre - where the Labour Party Conference is being held.

But Mr Knight said the figure was closer to 10,000.

The club is waiting for Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to decide if a new stadium can be built at Falmer.

Plans for the 23,000-seater stadium were first submitted in 2001, but despite a lengthy public inquiry no decision has yet been taken.

If we were to drop out of the league because we didn't have a ground it would be a tragedy for football in this country Dick Knight, Brighton chairman

The club has not had its own stadium since the Goldstone Ground was sold for retail development in 1997.

It stages home matches at Withdean, a small athletics complex in Brighton which holds about 7,000 people.

Mr Prescott is expected to make a decision some time next month, so fans and representatives of the club used the government's presence in the city for the Labour conference to reinforce their claims that the new stadium is needed.

Among those marching were celebrity fans such as TV presenter Des Lynam and DJ Norman Cook - aka Fatboy Slim - as well as past and present players, the manager Mark McGhee and chairman Mr Knight.

The proposed stadium has been opposed by some local residents

He said: "It was a fantastic turnout, estimated at about 10,000 people.

"The most significant point being there were far more people than can actually get in to see us at the Withdean Stadium at the moment.

"When we got to the Millennium Stadium two seasons ago (for the play-off final) we took 30,000 fans with us.

"I remember looking up in the stands at the end of the game and I saw so many old replica shirts - a whole generation of people who can't come to see us at the moment.

"We can't survive at Championship level at Withdean.

"We can only get 6,500 in and half the gate receipts go on putting on the game in the first place.

"We are the only league club within 150 miles along the south coast and if we were to drop out of the league because we didn't have a ground it would be a tragedy for football in this country."