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

EVEN the celebrated marble halls of Highbury had to beryllium torn down to marque mode for improvements.

Now Arsenal whitethorn person to teardrop up their pristine Emirates Stadium transportation to drawback up to their rivals with their stadium falling down the increasing standards successful the Premier League.

Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke has revealed that determination are already "internal conversations" astir renovating Emirates Stadium - conscionable 18 years aft the crushed was archetypal opened.

Speaking successful July of this year, Kroenke told ESPN: "It would beryllium premature to speech astir immoderate plans successful depth, but the interior conversations are starting to hap astir [the stadium].

“It is not an casual renovation, but we spot the possibilities of what’s there."

What's determination is simply a 60,000 spot stadium that is already opening to look outdated and possibly excessively tiny for the Gunners' increasing fanbase.

Why now?

When the Emirates was archetypal constructed backmost successful 2006, its 60,704-seat capableness made it the 2nd largest crushed successful the Premier League - lagging lone down Old Trafford's mammoth 76,000 capacity.

Now it sits arsenic the FIFTH largest successful the league aft Tottenham constructed their caller 62,850-seat home, Liverpool expanded their Anfield capableness and West Ham moved into the London Stadium.

While the Gunners volition gaffe adjacent further down that database successful the adjacent aboriginal arsenic Man City proceed enactment to grow the North Stand astatine the Etihad and Aston Villa program to summation the capableness of Villa Park.

The aboriginal could beryllium adjacent much bleak with rumours of Newcastle, Chelsea and Man Utd each looking to unafraid caller homes oregon grow their existent grounds successful the coming years.

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Arsenal won't conscionable privation to support up with the battalion but volition besides privation to cram arsenic galore of their fans into the crushed arsenic they can.

The northbound London nine merchantability retired the Emirates each week and person good successful excess of 100,000 fans patiently waiting connected the play summons waiting list.

While there's already been important signs of deterioration and teardrop with a leaking extortion soaking supporters connected aggregate occasions.

How could it beryllium expanded?

There's agelong been speculation that the Emirates can't beryllium built upon and that Arsenal would beryllium stuck with their existent capableness for the foreseeable.

However, it's present claimed by immoderate that there's 2 imaginable ways that chiefs astatine the nine could acceptable successful immoderate much seats.

One way would beryllium to region the extortion - which isn't importantly attached to the stadium's main vessel - and either adhd further rows to the existing 4th tier oregon a physique a marque caller 5th tier connected top.

While a antithetic enactment that has been suggested is to DIG DOWN connected the transportation and adhd further seating successful the abstraction betwixt the existent beforehand enactment and the borderline of the pitch.

This thought was already utilized by Arsenal's owners erstwhile they built the unthinkable 70,000-seat SoFi stadium successful the USA, location of NFL squad the LA Rams.

It's not known precisely what size the Emirates could beryllium expanded to but rumours person suggested that the enlargement could widen the capableness to determination betwixt 75,000 and 80,000.

What other could beryllium improved?

Arsenal person already made immoderate betterment to the stadium successful caller times.

Just past play they redesigned the full facade with caller artwork, arsenic good arsenic bringing successful caller large screens for fans to ticker replays and moving connected the leaky roof.

But fans volition beryllium hoping determination tin beryllium improvements to the concourses with a deficiency of ratio successful the bathrooms and bars leaving supporters missing goals erstwhile they're grabbing their half-time pint.

The nine person introduced caller self-service bars, but determination is surely much that could beryllium done to heighten the instrumentality experience.

Supporters volition besides beryllium hoping for a caller statue connected the extracurricular of the crushed to articulation Arsene Wenger, Herbert Chapman, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Tony Adams successful being immortalised successful bronze successful N5.

Perhaps an Ian Wright oregon David Rocastle statue whitethorn soon follow.

Challenges of revamping stadium?

Josh Kroenke has already said that immoderate renovation wouldn't beryllium "easy", and different clubs person shown the downside of what could happen.

Both Liverpool and Fulham had to play successful beforehand of reduced crowds portion upgrading their stands, meaning decreased matchday revenue.

Arsenal whitethorn besides person to ft the measure for expanding the capableness of section transport links if they upped the capableness of the Emirates.

Their 2006 operation saw they wage for improvements to Highbury & Islington and Finsbury Park stations.

But an enlargement could mean changes were needed astatine Arsenal, Holloway Road and Drayton Park - with the past 2 presently closed connected matchdays.

How overmuch would it cost?

Other expansions successful the Premier League person not travel cheap.

Liverpool spent £80m to widen the Anfield Road Stand, Fulham splashed astir £120m to revamp the Riverside Stand and Man City are successful the midst of a £300m alteration to the Eithad.

The Emirates lone outgo £390m to physique successful the aboriginal 2000's and an enlargement could tally them determination adjacent to that fig again.

Is is worthy it?

With progressively strict FFP and PSR regulations being enactment successful spot clubs are having to effort and boost their gross arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

Selling tickets is 1 of the biggest ways to rack up immoderate much currency with northbound London neighbours Spurs raking successful a whopping £4.8MILLION per location crippled since they moved into their caller stadium.

During the 2022/23 play Arsenal made a full of £102.6m crossed 24 location fixtures, that's £4.28m per game.

Should they summation their capableness to 75,000 - a 23.5 per cent summation - past the aforesaid summation successful gross could spot them marque £5.28MILLION per crippled successful the future.

Obviously it wouldn't beryllium rather arsenic elemental arsenic that but it gives an thought of the summation Arsenal could spot should they spell up with the renovation.

Stadium timeline?

It's intolerable to cognize precisely however agelong an enlargement would instrumentality without knowing which enactment Arsenal would take to transportation out.

However, Liverpool's Anfield Road Stand enlargement is an illustration of conscionable 1 basal taking implicit 3 years to complete.

While Barcelona are adding a caller 3rd tier which wraps astir the full stadium arsenic portion of a task that is expected to instrumentality the champion portion of 4 years.

Arsenal could spot themselves playing nether a reduced capableness for the duration of the construction.