Gills chairman Paul Scally believes the Brighton blueprint is the way forward.

Brighton reached the Championship play-offs this season and have been closing in on a place in the Premier League since moving into their Amex Stadium.

It’s a model that the Gillingham chairman would like to follow.

Mr Scally wants a new stadium for the Gills, just like Brighton achieved five years ago and believes that will help propel them to another level on and off the pitch.

He said: “Without a shadow of a doubt, it (a new stadium) will attract more fans. We have been looking at the positive uplifting of support bases in a new stadium and without exception every new stadium has seen huge increases in support. I think Brighton is a great example, with a conurbation similar in size to Medway.

"They started off building a 15-20,000-seater stadium and within a few years had extended it to 30,000 because of their success in the Championship.

“I have no doubt that with a new stadium in Medway, built to the right design, built for the right reasons and to the right specifications of the supporters and the community, we can do exactly the same, if not more.”

Talks of a move away from Priestfield were ongoing even before Mr Scally took over as chairman but over the last 20 years it has been a key objective of his.

The site at Mill Hill, adjacent to their training ground at Beechings Cross, is the club’s preferred location for a new community stadium with an original proposal of a phased capacity of between 12,000 and 24,000 seats.