The first competitive game played at the stadium was the 2010–11 season final of the Sussex Senior Cup between Brighton and Eastbourne Borough on 16 July 2011.

Falmer Stadium hosted Premier League football for the first time in August 2017, following Albion's promotion at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Falmer Stadium hosted European football for the first time on 21 September 2023 when Brighton played against AEK in the UEFA Europa League.

However, subsequent delays in gaining planning permission meant that the club had to wait until August 2011 before being able to play their home games there – more than a decade after the stadium was first proposed.

Planning permission was given by the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove City Council in June 2002, with the intention of the stadium being ready for the 2005–06 season.

[8] Further complications were due to both vacant fields, and the campus of the adjacent University of Sussex, being included in the South Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although outside the National Park.

In April 2006, Prescott admitted that he had given his approval based on the misconception that only a small part of the stadium site lay on the Lewes side, and withdrew it.

On 27 November 2008, the Buckingham Group signed the construction contract for the new stadium[9] and began preparation work on the site on 17 December.

The deal with American Express Europe, Brighton and Hove's biggest private-sector employer, confirming the stadium's naming rights was announced on 22 June 2010.

[12] The stadium officially opened on 30 July 2011, hosting a friendly match against then-Brighton manager Gus Poyet's old club Tottenham Hotspur, the home-side narrowly losing 3–2.

The first competitive match had been held on 16 July 2011, when Brighton's development squad beat Eastbourne Borough 2–0 in the Sussex Senior Cup final,[13] with Gary Hart scoring the first goal.

This figure was beaten on 25 January 2015, when Arsenal visited in the FA Cup fourth round to once again win 3–2, in front of an attendance of 30,278.

A few weeks later this record was broken again when Brighton and Hove Albion played Sheffield Wednesday in the second leg of the play-offs.

[24] Falmer Stadium hosted European football for the first time on 21 September 2023 when Brighton played against AEK in the UEFA Europa League.

[31] Before them, as a trial run pre-World Cup, the stadium hosted the England U20s vs France U20s match in the final round of the 2015 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.

[40] The stadium also incorporates a banqueting and conference facility, a nursery school/crèche, 720 square metres of teaching space for the University of Brighton, 1,200 square metres of office space for the University of Sussex, the club shop for tickets and merchandise and above it the 200 capacity bar/lounge named Dick's Bar after the club's life president, Dick Knight.