The architect who designed Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium has previously expressed interest in Arsenal’s plans to raise capacity at the Emirates Stadium.
Everton are one of a number of Premier League clubs to have taken significant action to boost their matchday income. In their case, it was a case of building a new stadium altogether, just as Manchester United, possibly Newcastle United and, further down the pyramid, Birmingham City intend to.
Liverpool recently finished expanding Anfield, while Manchester City are in the process of doing the same. And Arsenal are the latest club to move towards increasing capacity, after Aston Villa and Leeds United. Chelsea meanwhile are undecided between a new stadium or an expansion of Stamford Bridge.
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The Emirates Stadium has been home to Arsenal since 2006. In that near two-decade stretch, the 60,704-seater North London arena has generated matchday income of over £1.5bn.
A general view of the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
The Gunners’ last set of financial records showed that ticketing revenue accounted for £132m of Arsenal’s overall annual turnover of £614m. Once the 2024-25 results are made public, they are expected to topple Manchester United as the club with the highest matchday revenues in England.
But this week, it emerged that Arsenal are forging ahead with plans to expand the Emirates, as TBR Football has reported extensively in recent months.
A capacity of 70,000 post-upgrades now appears to be on the cards, which would make the club’s home in N5 the biggest of any London football club, behind only Man United’s Old Trafford nationwide.
There is a long, long way to go before Stan Kroenke attends the ribbon-cutting ceremony, not least in terms of getting a funding package together, with the updates estimated to cost around £500m.
Nevertheless, Arsenal fans will doubtless be daydreaming about what the Emirates 2.0 might look like.
Dan Meis open to Emirates Stadium project
Arsenal themselves are yet to make the trip to Everton’s new home on the banks of the Mersey, but the Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley Moore Dock has been a crowd-pleaser in every sense so far.
The 52,800-seater was designed by Dan Meis, the architect behind some of the world’s most iconic stadia, including the Crypto.com Arena, the Manchester Arena and as-yet unnamed new venue for AS Roma.
Speaking exclusively to TBR Football earlier this year, Meis said he would “love to talk” to Arsenal about their plans for the Emirates Stadium.
*“I’m always interested in these projects and it’s always important for owners to get different perspectives.*“
Meis, who is now senior vice president and director of global sports design at AECOM, was also complimentary about Arsenal owner Kroenke’s vision in building the SoFi Stadium, the home of his LA Rams NFL franchise regularly considered the best sports venue on the planet.
Dan Meis architect of Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley Moore Dock
Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images
“I was in LA when SoFi was initially conceived, designing a competing scheme for another developer in a different part of LA,” he continued.
“What became clear was that as soon as Kroenke decided he was going to push forward to get a team in LA, he was going to go big. My impression has always been that he doesn’t do anything without being very thoughtful about it and does what is needed to get it done.
“SoFi is interesting. It’s one of the most extreme NFL buildings and probably in comparison to stadiums of any kind too. He made a commitment to do something that was bold and spectacular in a lot of ways.“
Why aren’t Arsenal going bigger?
There are approximately 100,000 people on Arsenal’s season ticket waiting list – so why not go bigger?
Initially, the mood music was that Arsenal were aiming for 80,000, but football finance experts and architect industry figures alike have routinely told TBR Football that smaller might be better – for the club’s revenue, if not for the fans.
Updated chart showing the matchday incomes and stadium capacities of top English clubs
Matchday income and stadium capacities chart Credit: Adam Williams/TBR Football/GRV Media
Scarcity creates value, and the last 10,000 or so seats in a new stadium build or expansion process are invariably the most expensive, while also generating the lowest yield.
Simultaneously, 1,000 extra premium seats or hospitality covers can generate the same financial return as 5,000 general admission tickets.
So while fewer seats might be galling for bedrock Arsenal fans, the club’s bean counters may well be pushing for a less-is-more approach.