Arsenal Stadium

April 11th, 2011

Highsbury stadium, 1913.

Arsenal Stadium , better known as Highbury , was built in 1913. It was the former home of London soccer club Arsenal. It was in the same neighborhood in the capital. Highbury was known for his very small (101 by 67 meters), but well maintained field.

The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, and had a design like many stadiums in the United Kingdom at that time, with a grandstand and three outdoor terraces. The whole stadium underwent in the 30′s some great innovations: new Art Deco West and East Stands were built, opening in respectively 1932. and 1936., and there was a roof added to the North Bank stand, which was bombed during the Second World War I and was not restored until 1954.

The stadium had a capacity of 38,500 seats (12,500 at the North Bank, 11,000 in the West Stand, East Stand at the 9000 and 6000 at the Clock End, where the core is placed). It has two large screens in the south-eastern and north-western corner.

The audience is recorded from 1935., during Arsenal’s match against Sunderland. 72,395 spectators were recorded. Until the early 90s of last century had a stadium capacity of 57,000 spectators.

An expansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a listed building and the other three stands were close to other houses. These restrictions prevented the club from making the maximum revenue risked connection with the other top teams losing. Hence there was a new stadium, about 500 meters from Highbury. In 2006. Arsenal moved to Emirates Stadium. The old stadium was replaced by houses. The East Stand and West Stand persisted because of the historically significant Art Deco influences. (more…)

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