Arsenal are putting together a plan to renovate the Emirates Stadium, with chief executive Richard Garlick leading the conversations on the club’s side. The move points to a fresh round of change at a ground that opened 20 years ago and now holds 60,704 supporters.
Josh Kroenke said the club is starting the work with advisers and that the Emirates has been an impressive home for Arsenal, but he also said it is time to think about how the stadium can be improved for supporters. He said the club could give fans an elevated matchday experience while preserving some of the character that makes the ground feel like Arsenal.
That is why the question of what stadium is Champions League final has found a wider audience around Arsenal’s plans: big European nights have become part of the modern identity of the Emirates, even as the club considers how far it can push the venue without losing what supporters already value. The stadium was built in a very different financial era, and Arsenal’s recent rise means the club could sell tens of thousands more tickets than its current capacity allows.
One option discussed over the past few years has been to raise the four corners, a change that would alter the shape of the ground without forcing Arsenal to abandon it for a new home. The club has also been conscious that major work could mean temporarily sacrificing home advantage, with Wembley discussed as a possible stopgap if renovation work disrupted matches at the Emirates.
Kroenke’s message was that the club should not treat renovation as a simple expansion exercise. He said there is character he wants to make sure is preserved and brought back to the ground, and he wants supporters to help define what that means. Arsenal have not confirmed the final design or the timetable, which leaves the biggest decision still unresolved: how much of the Emirates gets changed, and how much of it Arsenal decide should remain exactly as it is.
