Arsenal hit with three Emirates Stadium expansion obstacles in bid to increase capacity

Arsenal have been exploring the potential increase of capacity for their current approximately 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium football.london understands. The Gunners have been looking at options for the past 18 months, but are so far not close to a decision on the final plan.

Plenty of exploratory discussions are ongoing, and following a backroom shake-up, there is much more expertise behind the scenes to make it happen. Furthermore, there are plenty of questions that still need to be answered, no matter what path the club decides to take.

With that in mind, football.london looks into what these might be. From seating to the stadium’s facilities, several aspects need to be considered.

Who gets what?

While it is all well and good that an expansion of the stadium, be it a minor increase or a major construction allowing for several thousand extra seats to be inserted into the bowl, who gets which seats is a big decision. For instance, hypothetically if a 10,000 increase was to be explored, which type of attendee would the seats be allocated to?

Currently, seats are filled by season ticket holders, red or silver members, corporate attendees and club staff and associates among others. Around 45,000 season ticket holders are lucky enough to get their hands on a permanent spot.

The waiting list for new season tickets is believed to expand beyond 100,000 and a few thousand extra seats will not make the biggest dent to that list. Plus if more than 80 per cent of the Arsenal fans in the ground are made up of season tickets at present, should that mean more than 80 per cent of the new seats be allocated to new season ticket-holders?

Infrastructure

While the capacity of the Emirates has been a point of discussion for supporters, the main problem many would argue is the infrastructure of the stadium. The entrances and their efficiency in getting fans in and out of the ground.

The screens and stalls inside the concourse and the ease with which fans can get around and use facilities. Then there are the seats themselves, which, if left in place, still would need a significant update, a clean and a new coat of paint, potentially from the faded red that they currently are showing.

External pressures

If the Emirates adds thousands of more seats to the stadium, the question must be asked whether the local area can deal with an increase in attendances. There are currently three matchday tube stations (four when Holloway Road is open): Finsbury Park, Highbury and Islington and Arsenal station.

It is already difficult to get to the station straight after full-time, so much so many fans take the option to leave games early to beat the rush. There are improvements to the Piccadilly line including a new fleet of trains in 2026 which might help somewhat for the Arsenal station, which of the three mentioned is the only one on that line.

But the club will need to be aware of what a bigger number of fans will do to the area and plan accordingly.