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Inside Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium expansion plans that could see pitch torn up as owner admits renovation ‘not easy’

Admin 1 week ago

9 4 minutes read

EVEN Highbury's famous marble halls had to be demolished to make way for improvements.

Now Arsenal may have to tear up the pristine Emirates Stadium pitch to catch up with their rivals, with their stadium lagging behind the growing standards in the Premier League.

Arsenal co-chairman Josh Kroenke has revealed that there are already “internal discussions” about the renovation of the Emirates Stadium – just 18 years after the ground first opened.

In July this year, Kroenke told ESPN: “It would be premature to talk in depth about plans, but internal conversations are starting to happen about [the stadium].

“It is not an easy renovation, but we see the possibilities of what is there.”

What there is is a 60,000-seat stadium that is already starting to look outdated and perhaps too small for the Gunners' growing fan base.

Why now?

When the Emirates was first built in 2006, it was the second largest ground in the Premier League with a seating capacity of 60,704 – trailing only the mammoth 76,000-seat capacity of Old Trafford.

Now they sit fifth in the league after Tottenham built their new 62,850-seat home, Liverpool expanded their capacity at Anfield and West Ham moved into the London Stadium.

While the Gunners are set to drop even further down the table in the near future, with Man City continuing to work on expanding the North Stand on the Etihad and Aston Villa plan to increase Villa Park's capacity.

Everton's new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium will only seat a relatively small capacity of 52,888.

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But with Newcastle, Chelsea and Man Utd all looking to secure new homes or expand their current grounds in the coming years, Arsenal could fall even further behind.

Arsenal will not only want to keep pace with the pack, but also cram as many fans into the ground as possible.

The North London club sells out the Emirates every week and has over 100,000 fans patiently waiting on the waiting list for season tickets.

Although there are already significant signs of wear and tear, with supporters having been soaked several times by a leaking roof.

How could it be expanded?

There has long been speculation that the Emirates cannot be built upon and that Arsenal would be stuck with their current capacity for the time being.

However, some are now claiming that there are two possible ways in which the club's chiefs could fit in some more seats.

One route would be to remove the roof – which is not significantly attached to the stadium's main bowl – and either add additional rows to the existing fourth tier or build a brand new fifth tier on top.

Another option that has been proposed is to dig into the field and add additional seating in the space between the current front row and the edge of the playing field.

This idea was already used by the owners of Arsenal when they built the incredible 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium in the US, home to the NFL team LA Rams and Chargers.

It is not known exactly to what size the Emirates could be expanded, but rumors suggest the expansion could increase capacity to somewhere between 75,000 and 80,000.

What else can be improved?

Arsenal has already made some improvements to the stadium in recent times.

Last season they redesigned the entire facade with new artwork, and introduced new giant 360-degree screens for fans to watch replays and work on the leaky roof.

But fans will hope improvements can be made to the concourses, with a lack of efficiency in the toilets and bars causing supporters to miss goals as they grab their pints at half-time.

The club has introduced new self-service bars, but more can certainly be done to improve the fan experience.

Supporters will also be hoping for a new statue on the outside of the pitch to be immortalized in bronze in N5 alongside Arsene Wenger, Herbert Chapman, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams.

Perhaps a statue of Ian Wright or David Rocastle will follow soon.

Challenges with renovating the stadium?

Josh Kroenke has already said a renovation wouldn't be “easy”, and other clubs have shown the downside of what could happen.

Both Liverpool and Fulham had to play in front of smaller crowds as they modernized their stands, reducing matchday revenues.

Arsenal may also have to foot the bill for increasing the capacity of local transport links if they increase the Emirates' capacity.

When built in 2006 they paid for improvements to Highbury & Islington and Finsbury Park stations.

But an expansion could mean changes are needed at Arsenal, Holloway Road and Drayton Park, with the latter two currently closed on matchdays.

How much would it cost?

Other Premier League expansions don't come cheap.

Liverpool have spent £80 million to expand the Anfield Road Stand, Fulham have spent around £120 million to renovate the Riverside Stand and Man City are in the middle of a £300 million move to the Eithad.

The Emirates' construction costs in the early 2000s were just £390 million, and an expansion could bring them back somewhere close to that figure.

Is it worth it?

With increasingly strict FFP and PSR regulations being introduced, clubs must try to increase their revenues as much as possible.

Selling tickets is one of the best ways to make some extra money, with north London neighbors Spurs raking in a whopping £4.8 MILLION per home game since moving to their new stadium.

During the 2022/23 season, Arsenal earned a total of £102.6 million from 24 home games, which is £4.28 million per match.

Should they increase their capacity to 75,000 – an increase of 23.5 percent – the same increase in turnover could see them earn £5.28 MILLION per game in the future.

It obviously wouldn't be that simple, but it gives an idea of the increase Arsenal could see if they continued with the renovation.