Football fans tend to be conservative in their outlook and moving stadium is always a risk. Indeed, it is in financial terms, not just sentimental ones. The London Stadium has been a great deal for West Ham financially, but arguably it lacks the atmosphere of Upton Park. Newcastle fans would prefer to stay at St. James’s Park in the city centre: a poll shows that only 19 per cent want to move despite capacity constraints.
At a time when the historic appeal of English football
combines with the global popularity of the Premier League, when clubs are
sports and non-sports businesses and commercialism chimes with heritage and
architecture to form a must-see destination, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is
the model. It is known for its scale, modernity and clear sightlines that have
changed how many see football stadiums. It is, to use a phrase,
ground-breaking.
Arsenal moved from Highbury in 2006, seven years after the
decision to leave was made. One of the main reasons was the club felt it had
outgrown Highbury. In seasons 1998-99 and 1999-00, Arsenal staged their
Champions League games at Wembley to accommodate both rising ticket demand
to see Arsene Wenger’s attractive, winning team and to fulfil UEFA’s
corporate criteria.
The latter was also relevant to Arsenal’s finances — selling
60,000 tickets, including thousands of expensive corporate seats, meant a far
bigger payday than staying at Highbury, where the capacity for UEFA matches was
just over 35,000. Demand far outstripped supply and the economic and ticketing
logic of Arsenal moving was clear.
Yet Highbury was ‘home’. In the 17 seasons before Arsenal
left, they won four league titles and finished second five times. Highbury’s
role in this is unquantifiable, but it certainly was a vivid piece of The
Arsenal.
In the 17 seasons since (not including 2023-24), Arsenal
have not won a single title. They have finished second twice. A brutal reading
of those league standings would say the move from Highbury has not been
justified.
But the numbers able to watch Arsenal has soared and,
economically, it has been transformative. Arsenal’s turnover in 2005-06, the
club’s last financial year at Highbury, was £137m. In 2006-07, the first season
at ‘the Emirates’, it was £200m and a season later £223m. Six weeks ago,
Arsenal released their figures for the year ending May 2023 with “football
revenue for the year” at £464m.
Yet they also suffered from ‘first mover’ disadvantage. Nigel Phillips from the Arsenal Supporters’
Trust (AST) explains: “Arsenal moved in 2006 but got planning permission in
1999 to a design from the mid-1990s. This makes the Emirates almost a
30-year-old design and is so dated when compared to what Spurs have built.
“Another issue with the Arsenal stadium move is that of the
£450m project costs, £260m was borrowed on a long-term basis via project bonds,
but the other £190m came from Arsenal commercial revenues. Basically, it was
spending money from future revenues and this meant that when those actual
seasons rolled by, there was no commercial cash to spend as it had been spent
on the stadium build.
“This is what messed with Wenger and the competitiveness of
the club for a long period of time.”
A new Old Trafford is likely to be over £1billion, maybe
double, and debt is a loaded word at the club. Given Real Madrid said
recently they will not pay off the vast restructure of the Bernabeu stadium
until 2053, United’s repayments could go on until the 2060s. The debate aboit what should happen there
continues.
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