Crawley Town to train at University of Sussex sports complex formerly used by Brighton

The complex, previously used by Brighton & Hove Albion for their men's first team and more recently used by the Sussex outfit for their Women’s Super League side, boasts two grass pitches, a goalkeeping area and access to the university’s state of the art fitness and strength and conditioning rooms.

As part of the agreement, the club will also be installing an additional gym facility at the complex.

The club and the university will also be working on other areas of mutual benefit, including internship and placement opportunities for university students, access to the Reds' first team coaches for agreed sessions and a number of ticketing and advertising opportunities.

Crawley Town general manager Tom Allman said: “I’m really pleased to announce today’s partnership with the University of Sussex with regards to the use of their facilities for the 2023-24 season.

“The complete package of facilities they are able to offer, from grass pitches to catering, elite gym space and the option of artificial pitches for the winter made this move the logical next step for the football club.

“The number of uses on the pitches are far less than what we had last season at Southwater and this, teamed with the fact we have on-site gym space available should mean players are spending less time travelling and are able to complete their work on one site - previously we were having to split our time across training pitches and various satellite gyms.

“The facility was previously occupied by Brighton & Hove Albion so we will be working in a professional environment that will be conducive to the operation that Scott wants to implement for the players and the club as a whole.

“I’d like to thank Simon and Terry from the University for all their assistance in getting this partnership over the line and are looking forward to seeing the fruits of our labour.

“The partnership is far wider than just the facilities and will encompass other elements of shared value, including coaching hours for university teams from our coaches, as well as internship opportunities for students.

“I’d also like to extend this thanks to Southwater FC and Horsham FC for their work at the sites we had previously occupied and welcome the continued partnership between fellow Sussex clubs going forwards.”

Head of sport at Sussex University Simon Tunley added: “We are delighted to welcome Crawley FC to the University of Sussex, which has a proud history of supporting its local football teams over the last 30 years.

“The partnership with Crawley FC rekindles our desire to build partnerships that are mutually beneficial for all parties with a particular focus on developing the student experience through additional gym space and coaching support.”

Reds manager Scott Lindsey said: “I am really happy that we could get this done before pre-season, as it is very important to have a base that we can call our home.

“We will have good grass pitches with solid irrigation and drainage, so hopefully, we can get use from them all year round. There is a 3G facility on site that we can use if the weather does become really bad.

“We are putting a gym on site that we can use as well. It’s a brilliant facility that we can use to get some needed work into the players.”

The club will begin training at the complex on Wednesday [June 28].