By James Clarke BBC News, England

Hull's KC Stadium was voted the best in England by football fans

To others, it would be a fantastic business opportunity.

Throughout most of Brighton and Hove Albion's four-year battle for permission to build a ground at Falmer, which was granted last month, both the club and supporters claimed the whole city needed the stadium.

But in towns and cities where new and bigger stadiums have already opened, have there been benefits for anyone other than the clubs and their fans?

"Every great city needs a stadium" became a familiar refrain during Brighton's fight, and the city council and local MPs appeared to agree, publicly backing the scheme.

'Fantastic news'

But some people living near Falmer were less keen, claiming it would be an inappropriate development on what they felt should have been a protected landscape.

Peter Lenihan, who for 22 years has run a farm on land where the stadium will be built, said: "The club's solicitor suggested that we would actually get a lot of business from passing football fans.

"They are going to have stewards at the top of the village to stop people going into the village because they won't be allowed to park there, so where are the customers going to come from?"

New cricket and football grounds opened in Southampton in 2001

But Mark Froud, chief executive of business support group Sussex Enterprise, said: "This is fantastic news for the club, local residents, businesses and the local economy.

"It will create jobs, attract inward investment from businesses and become a major draw, not just for football fans, but for thousands of visitors eager to use the facilities."

A poll of 3,000 football supporters in September to find England's best stadium, based on comfort, services and view, ended with "new" stadiums in each of the top five places.

Hull City's 25,000-capacity KC Stadium, which opened in December 2002 and is also home to Hull FC rugby league club, came top of the list.

For some communities, the arrival of a new stadium has meant obliteration Simon Inglis, stadium expert In pictures - The changing face of England's stadiums

A spokeswoman for Hull City Council said: "We tried to make it a community stadium as well as being a football and rugby ground.

"There's a learning zone in there which colleges use a lot, it's used as a conference centre and we have also had quite a lot of concerts there - Elton John, Bryan Adams and REM have all played there."

A new football stadium and new cricket ground were opened within the space of a few months in Southampton in 2001.

The St Mary's Stadium, home to Southampton Football Club, was built on the site of a former gasworks and holds 32,000 fans, while its predecessor, The Dell, had a capacity of just 15,200.

Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium has now been open for a decade

The Rose Bowl, headquarters of Hampshire County Cricket Club, is also bigger than its predecessor and has held prestigious international matches and major concerts.

Jimmy Chestnutt, director general of Southampton Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said sport was "part of the lifeblood of a prosperous and dynamic city" and that the venues' status as concert arenas and conference centres also helped the regional economy.

Mr Chestnutt said: "Sporting stadia contribute to both the culture and economy of a region.

"With the success of London's 2012 Olympic bid Southampton may receive a further boost through attracting training camps, families and competitors to the region.

"This would bring in added wealth, prestige and revenue to local businesses as well as helping to raise the profile of the city on a national and international scale."

'Enormous impact'

Simon Inglis is an expert on football stadiums, having written several books on their architecture and football history.

He also sat on several bodies relating to stadium design following the Hillsborough Disaster of 1989.

He said there were winners and losers every time a stadium was built and that each development had to be judged on merits.

"For some communities the arrival of a new stadium has meant obliteration," he said.

Simon Inglis says Arsenal's new stadium has transformed the area

"A modern all-seater stadium can take up twice as much room as an old stadium, because two people can stand in the space where one can sit."

He said the expansion of Blackburn Rovers' Ewood Park had seen whole rows of houses demolished.

"But a good example is Arsenal - you only have to go round there to see it's had an enormous impact on economic regeneration and the place looks neat and tidy."

Mr Inglis said the argument that new stadiums brought financial benefits for local businesses was open to debate, with US research showing spending took place in the stadium rather than in nearby retail outlets and pubs.

He also said most of the jobs taken by locals were part-time covering areas such as stewarding, catering and cleaning work which did not pay well.

But he added: "If you look at areas where the stadium has been moved, like Southampton and Derby, there would be a split between people who really miss the football club and say that was what made the area, and people who say it's much better, with no parking problems and no noise.