In July 1995, Ian Hart, a funeral director from Worthing and co-editor of the Brighton fanzine Gull’s Eye, received a call from Gordon Lucking, a Crystal Palace director. Lucking expressed interest in joining Brighton’s board, which welcomed him. One of Lucking’s employees had heard at a golf event that Brighton was selling its historic Goldstone Ground and planning to move to Portsmouth. Hart, who had always considered the Goldstone Ground — the club’s home since 1902 — a permanent fixture, found the idea hard to believe. He confronted the club’s chief executive, David Bellotti, directly, and according to Hart’s book Brighton & Hove Albion: From Every Angle, Bellotti’s face turned pale when asked about the sale. The sale of the Goldstone Ground set off a turbulent period for Brighton fans, one that has been revisited in a new play called Stand or Fall, written by Brighton fan Mark Brailsford. The play will be staged at the Theatre Royal in Brighton from 23 September for four nights, marking the club’s 125th anniversary. An exhibition with the same name opened in August at the Brighton Museum and will run until the end of the year. Hart is one of the producers of the play, which follows a group of fans during the Goldstone era, their time at Gillingham, and the eventual move to the Withdean Stadium in Brighton before the club found a new home at the Amex Stadium. The fan movement during this time was a diverse and passionate group, including punk poet John Baine, known as Attila the Stockbroker. The first major fan meeting after the sale of the Goldstone Ground took place at Chapman’s pub in Worthing, now known as the Railway. The meeting grew rapidly, with hundreds of fans gathering outside the Concorde nightclub when the situation became serious. In April 1996, 600 fans ran onto the Goldstone pitch after a win against Carlisle, demanding Bellotti’s resignation. Some fans even tore up seats in the directors’ box as attempts were made to storm the boardroom. Similar protests occurred at other games, but the Football Association and the Football League largely ignored the supporters’ concerns. The Goldstone Ground was eventually demolished in 1997 after Brighton narrowly avoided relegation from the Football League. A last-minute goal by Robbie Reinelt against Hereford saved the club from relegation. The following year, Brighton finished 91st in the league again and had to play home games in Gillingham after Portsmouth reneged on a groundshare deal. Hart noted that this period saw the loss of a generation of fans, but the club has since regained their support. Local businessman Dick Knight helped stabilize the club by purchasing it through a fan-led consortium, leading to a return to Brighton, albeit at the Withdean Stadium. The real turning point came in 2009 when Tony Bloom took over as chair. Under his leadership, the club moved to the Amex Stadium, was promoted to the Premier League in 2017, and reached the last 16 of the Europa League in 2024. Hart hopes the club can now complete the quest for a major trophy, a goal Tony Bloom once promised during a reunion dinner.