The new Arsenal Stadium, UK, is 
designed by HOK Sport and will be at the leading edge of good environmental practice.

lans for Arsenal Football Club's new 60,000-seat stadium at Ashburton Grove (about 500m from Highbury Stadium, Arsenal's home since 1913) have been unveiled. They form part of a major regeneration package involving the redevelopment of the club's existing Arsenal Stadium for housing (including affordable housing), light industry and community uses. The plans also include the relocation of uses currently located at Ashburton Grove to alternative premises.

There are also proposals for the regeneration of the Lough Road/Eden Grove area (about 1km from Highbury) that has been derelict and under-used for over twenty years. Detailed discussions are continuing in partnership with landowners Railtrack, J Sainsbury and Peabody Trust for the redevelopment of this six hectare site.

Planning applications for all these facilities have been submitted to the London Borough of Islington. Planning officers there have indicated that they would be prepared to recommend compulsory purchase of any property that is necessary in order to secure the public benefit improvements and the better planning of the area which these regeneration proposals promote.
  

The new Arsenal Stadium, designed by HOK Sport who were responsible for Stadium Australia, will be at the leading edge of good environmental practice. The Stadium will have a 60,000 capacity in a spectacular four-tier structure, and will include the Arsenal Museum and Shop, and a range of restaurants and bars.

The main entrance to the stadium will be from a new concourse at the corner of Benwell Road and Hornsey Road. In addition, there will be pedestrian access via two new bridges over the railway from Drayton Park and one of the bridges will be available for emergency vehicles. The stadium will be fully accessible for people with physical disabilities.
  

" This is a wonderful opportunity to design a world class Premier League stadium in the context of the close urban fabric of North London..."

Rod Sheard, Chairman HOK Sport, London.

Adjacent to the new stadium will be the Arsenal Sports and Community Centre and Arsenal's administrative offices. The new Sports and Community Centre will continue to provide a wide range of activities in partnership with local schools, clubs and voluntary organisations. The Ashburton Grove site for the Club was identified byAnthony Green and Spencer.

Ken Friar, Arsenal Director, said; "The new stadium will be a stunning addition to the area and provide a landmark building of which everyone can be proud. Our proposals will also act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the wider area by safeguarding and creating 3,500 jobs, providing over 1,000 new homes and injecting over £400 million of investment into the area.

"For over twenty years the Lough Road area has been a blot on the Islington landscape. These proposals will provide substantial public benefit and, unlike previous failed schemes, can be delivered."

The key benefits of the new stadium will be:

• An increase in stadium capacity that will enable the many thousands of supporters who are at present unable to attend matches to be able to do so in the future.

• A larger stadium which will generate additional income in order to sustain and develop the Club's football success. Increased capacity will also enable the Club to keep match tickets at affordable prices.

• An improved stadium providing a range of additional facilities that will make spectators' visits more pleasurable and encourage wider involvement, particularly amongst women and families. In particular, the new stadium will have improved access for disabled supporters and enhanced sight lines for all spectators.

• An energy-efficient stadium that is less costly to maintain.

• The potential to use the pitch area for up to six non-football events a year thereby providing a wider range of activities.

Artist's impression of the new Arsenal Stadium (52k)
  

New Ambience

The Club's plans for the existing Arsenal Stadium at Highbury, designed by Allies and Morrison Architects, will preserve the existing East and West Stands that will each be converted into new apartments with views over the pitch area. Two new housing developments, providing new flats and mews housing, together with light industrial units and a restaurant, will replace the existing North and South Stands. 25% of the new housing will fall within the category of 'affordable housing'.

The plans for the existing Arsenal Stadium also include:

• A new doctors' surgery.

• New housing along Highbury Hill to replace the existing stadium entrance at the corner of Gillespie Road.

• Car parking and storage under the pitch area to serve the new housing.

In memory of supporters whose ashes are at Highbury, the areas of turf where the ashes were buried will be lifted and re-laid alongside the new pitch at Ashburton Grove. In addition, a permanent memorial will be erected at Highbury, following discussions with relatives.

Wider Regeneration Proposals

As part of the Club's wider regeneration proposals the plans also include:

• New light industrial and business space and housing at Lough Road, a site which has lain derelict for over twenty years.

• A new road through the Lough Road site linking Holloway Road and Caledonian Road, taking the pressure off Mackenzie Road.

• The relocation of the North London Waste Authority's Waste Transfer Station and Islington Council's central vehicle depots and associated offices and workshops to a new purpose built complex at Lough Road.

• A package of transport improvements and crowd management proposals.

In all, the regeneration proposals will create and/or safeguard 3,500 jobs and provide over 1,000 new homes as well as acting as a catalyst for the long-term regeneration of the wider Holloway Road/Caledonian Road area.

Transport Improvements

Public transport to Arsenal Stadium is already the best in the Premier League with almost 70% of fans arriving by means other than private cars. Further measures to improve transport to the new stadium include managing the existing capacity of the underground station better than at present.

Arsenal proposes to work closely with transport operators and the emergency services to develop a fully integrated scheme for managing access to the stadium. The key features will be:

• Additional trains will be provided on both the Piccadilly and Victoria lines on match days. There is plenty of line capacity and rolling stock available to enable this to happen.

• Improved stewarding arrangements will be put in place to enable the stations to be used more efficiently and safely.

• Arsenal is supporting plans by Railtrack, London Underground and the Finsbury Park SRB Partnership Board to upgrade and improve pedestrian access to Finsbury Park rail and underground stations, and Station Place.

• Highbury and Islington Underground and rail stations are not used largely by spectators at present, but they will be much more attractive to users of the new stadium. There is plenty of capacity available to handle additional spectators, subject to proper crowd management. In addition, Railtrack is planning to redevelop the stations, which is likely to increase their capacity even further.

• Arsenal's underground station will continue to perform an important role. Because the new stadium will be further away, it will be possible to manage crowds better by introducing a single approach route along Drayton Park.

• Holloway Road underground station is a Listed Building, with very limited capacity due to its reliance on lifts. It is proposed to limit the use of this station after matches.

• There is sufficient extra capacity without the need for additional services to Drayton Park station (which is not open at weekends). However, Drayton Park is on the proposed extended East London line and if the station is served by a more regular train service in the future it could be incorporated into the transport management system.

• The pressure on all stations will be alleviated by encouraging spectators to arrive earlier and stay on later than at present. This will be done through providing a good range of quality entertainment and catering facilities as part of the new stadium.

" We are not trying to build the biggest stadium in the world, nor the most expensive. What we are aiming for is to build the most beautiful stadium in the world..."

Rod Sheard, Chairman HOK Sport, London.
- Incidentally, the largest stadium in the world is Stadium Australia at a capacity of 110,000 and the most expensive is presently Wembley Stadium, both of which happen to be HOK Sport projects...

Parking Controls

It is proposed to extend the existing match day parking controls to create a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) which is capable of robust enforcement by Islington Council. The extent of the CPZ will be the subject of consultation with the Council and local residents. It is estimated that the extended CPZ will reduce the number of spectators' cars by at least 2,000 within the zone.
In all, Arsenal is confident it will be able to increase the percentage of spectators arriving by means other than private car to over 80%, in line with the approved Planning Brief.

Environmental Impact

As part of the planning applications for the three sites, Arsenal will be submitting a detailed Environmental Statement. Copies of the non-technical summary of the ES Report are available free of charge.

The Timetable

Arsenal has submitted planning applications for all three sites. It is hoped that planning permission will be granted by Spring 2001 so that development work can begin on the Lough Road site to enable the relocation of the Waste Transfer station, Council Depot and Ashburton Grove firms by mid 2002.

Initial work on the new stadium site at Ashburton Grove is planned for early 2002 with construction work expected to take about two years, leading to the opening of the new stadium for the start of the 2004/05 football season.

Redevelopment at Arsenal Stadium would start at the end of 2003/04 season and is programmed to take around two to three years.

Public Consultation

As part of the club's public consultation programme, an information newsletter was delivered door-to-door to residents living in the Ashburton Grove, Highbury and Lough Road areas, as well as more generally in the Islington area.

In addition, the club held a public exhibition of the proposals for all three sites which included models, plans and other illustrative material together with a video. Members of Arsenal's professional consultants were on hand to answer questions.

Arsenal Football Club's need to relocate has been brought about by the increasing demands placed upon modern stadia by safety regulations and licensing laws combined with the ever increasing demands of spectators.

This necessity has not only given Arsenal the opportunity to create a landmark building that will reflect the aspirations of the club and the community, but the stadium's development is also being used as a catalyst for the urban regeneration of the Ashburton Grove area - a concept also used by HOK Sport for the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff and the Colonial Stadium, Melbourne. 

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NB: Stadium Australia, Colonial Stadium and the Westpac Trust Stadium were all designed by Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture, a Bligh Voller Nield and HOK Sport joint venture.
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