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The original Arsenal Stadium was built in 1913, when Woolwich Arsenal moved from their home in Plumstead, south-east London to Highbury, leasing the recreation fields of a local divinity college. Designed by renowned stadium architect Archibald Leitch, it featured a single stand on the eastern side, and the other three sides had banked . However, no significant portion of Leitch's original stadium remains today, following a series of bold redevelopments during the 1930s.

The first of these was the West Stand, designed by Claude Waterlow Ferrier and William Binnie, with a distinctive Art Deco style, which opened in 1932; at the same time, the local Tube station was renamed from Gillespie Road to Arsenal. Leitch's main stand was demolished to make way for a new East Stand matching the west one in 1936, with its distinctive facade facing onto Avenell Road. The terrace at the north end was given a roof, and the southern terrace had a clock fitted to its front, giving it the name "The Clock End."

The stadium stayed more or less the same for the next fifty years, although during World War II the North Bank terrace was bombed and had to be rebuilt. Floodlights were fitted in 1951 (having been advocated by Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman some twenty years earlier). However, in the early 1990s, the Taylor report on the Hillsborough disaster was published, which recommended that football stadiums become all-seater. The North Bank, which had become home of Arsenal's most passionate supporters, was demolished in 1992, and a new all-seater stand constructed in its place. During the work, a giant mural of cheering fans was placed behind the goal at that end, to give the illusion that the players were kicking towards a crowd rather than empty terraces and rubble. The mural attracted criticism for its absence of black fans and was quickly modified. The Clock End was retained but redeveloped, and had seating and executive boxes fitted. When the stadium is redeveloped into housing (see below), the clock will be taken to their new home pitch, Emirates Stadium.

Redevelopment

Arsenal will leave the Arsenal Stadium when the new Emirates Stadium in nearby Ashburton Grove is opened, currently scheduled for July 2006. Arsenal Stadium will then be redeveloped and converted into apartments, in a project known as Highbury Square. The North Bank and Clock End stands will be demolished; however, the exteriors of the East Stand, which is a Grade II listed building, and the matching West Stand, will be preserved and incorporated into the new developments. The pitch will become a communal garden.

In June 2005 Arsenal received planning consent for a revised scheme which will see 711 properties built on the site. In October 2005 the proposed apartments went on sale; as of May 2006 all properties in the North, East and West Stands had been taken. The converted apartments are expected to be ready by 2010.

\"The Final Salute\"

For the 2005-2006 season, the final season at Highbury before moving to Emirates Stadium, Arsenal ran a series of promotions honouring the stadium's legacy.

A commemorative logo was designed, featuring the traditional Art Deco crest from the Herbert Chapman era. This logo was prominently displayed around the grounds as well as on club publications, the web site, club membership cards and merchandise.

On the field, Arsenal temporarily set aside their tradtional red shirts with white sleeves for the season and adopted a solid redcurrant shirt, the colour they wore during their first season at Highbury.

The club's history at Highbury was also celebrated through a series of "Themed Matchdays",^[link] where home matches commemorated a particular event, series of events or important figure in the club's history. Examples included "Kits Day" (v. Tottenham Hotspur, April 22, 2006), "London Derbies Day" (v. West Ham United, February 1, 2006), "Wenger Day" (v. Manchester City, October 22, 2005) and "Dennis Bergkamp Day" (v. West Bromwich Albion, April 15, 2006).

Highbury's other roles

As well as being home to Arsenal, in the past Highbury has occasionally functioned as a home stadium for England matches; in all 12 internationals were played at Highbury from 1920 to 1961, most of them being friendlies. These included the "Battle of Highbury", England's famous 1934 3-2 win over World Champions Italy, where seven Arsenal players started the match. Highbury has also been the venue for twelve FA Cup semi-finals as a neutral ground, the first in 1929 and the most recent in 1997, and the London XI's home leg against Lausanne Sports in the 1955-58 Fairs Cup semi-finals; London won 2-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.

Arsenal have not always played their home matches at Highbury since moving there. During the Second World War the stadium was used as an ARP station and was bombed; Arsenal played their matches at White Hart Lane, home of deadly rivals Tottenham Hotspur, until Highbury re-opened in 1946. More recently, Arsenal's home UEFA Champions League matches between 1999 and 2000 were played at Wembley Stadium, as Highbury's already limited capacity had to be reduced to accommodate advertising hoardings. Arsenal's record at Wembley (P6 W2 D1 L3) was none too impressive and the club switched back to playing at Highbury after two seasons.

Highbury has also seen several cricket and baseball matches, and was the venue for the 1966 World Heavyweight boxing title bout between Henry Cooper and Muhammad Ali (which Ali won). It has also featured on the silver screen, having been the backdrop to at least two movies: The Arsenal Stadium Mystery, and Fever Pitch.

Final record of results

Arsenal's complete competitive record at Highbury is as follows:

Competition	P	W	D	L	F	A	Win %
LeagueIncludes Premier League, First Division and Second Division.	1689	981	412	296	3372	1692	58%
FA Cup	142	92	32	18	305	123	65%
League Cup	98	69	14	15	195	74	70%
EuropeIncludes Champions League, Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup and European Super Cup.	76	50	17	9	153	60	66%
Charity Shield	5	4	0	1	13	6	80%
Total	2010	1196	475	339	4038	1955	60%

Tours and Museum

Tours of the stadium are available daily, but advanced booking is required. The Arsenal Museum is located in the North Bank stand, and is included in the tour. It is also open to visitors who do not do a tour, but only on Fridays.

Address

Arsenal Stadium
Avenell Road
LONDON
N5 1BU
United Kingdom

Travel

Nearby Tube stations (in order of proximity)

• Arsenal
• Finsbury Park
• Holloway Road

References

External links

• [Keke's Stadia Mania — Arsenal Stadium]
• [The Stadium Guide — Highbury]
• [Arsenal.com's "Farewell To Highbury" page]
• [Satellite Photo of Highbury]
• [The Stadium - Highbury Square] - official site of the redevelopment project

Arsenal Football Club
The Club | History | Players | Seasons | Records
Highbury | Emirates Stadium
North London derby > Arsenal Ladies

 

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From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

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