Stadiums are a vital part of any football club. Beyond the fact that every side needs one to play in, and they bring in revenue, they are the symbolic soul of the team. This is why moving stadiums can be an emotional time.
When Arsene Wenger helped Arsenal move from iconic 20th Century venue Highbury to their modern home the Emirates, he eventually admitted: "We built a new stadium but we never found our soul - we left our soul at Highbury."
That's not to say it's been an entirely bad move, it has certainly helped the Gunners financially. And that same theory will be applied as Manchester United look to give themselves a much-needed shot in the arm with their ambitious new 100,000-seater stadium.
But when a new stadium is built, what happens to the old venue? Highbury was famously turned into a block of flats and it appears as though Premier League club Brentford want to do the same with Griffin Park. But for now, the old ground looks derelict.
What Griffin Park Looks Like in 2025
Worrying images have emerged
Images of Griffin Park, before and after Brentford left
Griffin Park was the home of Brentford for 116 years, right up until September 2020. Their final game was a Championship play-off semi-final win over Swansea and while they would not manage promotion that season, they would the following campaign.
As of 2021/22, they became a Premier League club for the first time – meaning their former stadium never hosted football in that particular competition. These days, the Thomas Frank and co play in the Brentford Community stadium, but what became of the old ground?
With a pub on each corner, 12,000-seater venue Griffin Park was one of the most unique stadiums in football, but the initial plans were to knock it down and build some flats.
Demolition work started soon after their final game, but five years later and yet new images from COPA90 show not a lot of progress has been made as the old stadium now looks like a derelict building site.
Images of Nou Mestalla (Valencia), Donbass Arena (Shakhtar Donetsk), Guangzhou FC Stadium(Guangzhou FC) all decaying/looking damaged Related
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Why Griffin Park Looks Abandoned
Planning permission to build yet to be approved
In late 2024, the Sun reported that EcoWorld were still chasing planning permission for their plans to develop 149 new homes in west London. It was said that 41 of those would be new houses, with the rest apartment blocks, while 1,770 square meters of public green space would also be produced.
In addition to 149 new homes, the property developer has committed to creating 1770 square meters of public green space. Plans have been submitted to Hounslow Council, but as of early 2025 it remains unclear if they will grant permission.
Interestingly enough, before it became Giffin Park, the ground was initially owned by the Fuller, Smith and Turner brewery in 1904 – which feels appropriate for a stadium with a pub on each corner. Brentford leased it to start playing games that year and it actually had a standing capacity of 38,000, surviving World War II bombings and a fire as the Bees reached the top flight in the 1930s.
It held just 12 thousand fans by the end of its era as a Championship venue, with Brentford moving into the Gtech Community Stadium in the summer of 2020. Due to timing with the Covid-19 Pandemic, most fans weren't able to be in the ground as they said goodbye.
And while the situation has some way to go before becoming quite as concerning as Valencia's near-abandoned Nou Mestalla – which is supposed to be hosting games but instead rots away – loyal fans will no doubt be hoping something can soon become of the land they spent so many years at.
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