The past two decades have seen iconic football stadia around Europe be pulled down, or re-developed, into car-room looking amphitheatres. Clubs are increasingly seeking to part with their histories for increased commerciality. As sad as this is, can you blame them?
My favourite example in recent times of outlandish commercial strategies employed in stadiums came with Chelsea’s global hotel partner, Hilton Hotels. The decision to curate a temporary bedroom in the Matthew Harding stand at Stamford Bridge was given the green light. The ‘suite’ comprised of a double bed, dressing gowns and even a TV. This little stunt didn’t have the cute affect they were going for as Chelsea’s already irritable fanbase heavily criticised the club for replacing precious seating with shameless advertisements. In this instance, it took the form of Made in Chelsea’s Georgia Toffolo taking a snooze during a WSL clash. I dare say they didn’t have the bottle to implement this during a men’s game.
Hilton Hotel's advertisement suite takes centre stage at Stamford Bridge, much to Chelsea fans annoyance.
Conversely, one of my earliest footballing memories was accompanying my uncle, an unsuspecting irons fan, to the Boleyn Ground, Upton Park, to watch West Ham vs Chelsea on a wintery night in 2012. This meant we would be sitting with the home fans and, as we entered, I was smugly contemplating which silent celebration I should best deploy for the ensuing thrashing that was about to commence. The whole experience was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
Not only did we (Chelsea) lose, we lost 3-1, much to the surrounding fans delight. Despite fearing for my safety every time West Ham scored, prompting me into yet another
sarcastic celebration, I had never felt so invigorated as a 12 year old. Putting the disheartening scoreline to one side, I remember coming away from that game feeling intoxicated with adrenaline as the tight, roaring Upton Park emptied into the night. The compelling sense of nervousness I got from walking into the stadium that night returns with every match I go to.
Sadly, glorious stadiums like these are slowly giving way to newer, more efficient grounds that seem to be far removed from the compact, terraced styled stadiums that are synonymous with English football. Topflight clubs are seeking to bestow lasting legacies on the game in the form of state of the art stadiums. Increased match-day ticket sales, endless sponsorship opportunities, and ingenious forms of merchandising are all generating freakish financial growth.
In the Premier League over the past 20 years it has become almost trendy for clubs to develop new stadiums, largely in new locales. Manchester City kicked things off with a move from Maine Road to the Etihad in 2003. Arsenal migrated down the road from The Library to the extremely comfortable Emirates in 2006. Then came the opening of the new Wembley in 2007. West Ham left the revered Upton Park for the London Stadium in 2016 post Olympics and, most recently, Spurs inhabit the spanking new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as of 2019, leaving White Hart Lane quite literally flattened.
All of these stadiums share the same characteristics. They all boast increased capacity, for the most part, plush hospitality packages and lavish match-day experiences, and in Tottenham’s case, a brewery; seemingly chucked in for good measure.
The primary draw for constructing these spaceships, it seems, is the commercial revenue they rake in both on and off the pitch. The diversification of stadium usage has contributed towards unprecedented yearly revenue for such clubs. This involves hosting block buster boxing events, the NFL’s London Games, and the odd Ed Sheeran gig. They call it maximising the potential.
With the FA and Wembley trailblazing such methods, other clubs are following suit.
Daniel Levy’s savvy business acumen has projected Tottenham into the driving seat in this regard. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is top shelf goods, with an overall revenue to match. Match-day receipts alone have increased to c.£6million of pure profit, second to that of only Barcelona and PSG. And they don’t even win anything!
What’s £17million for winning the champions league final? Pocket change.
Moreover, planning permission for a 30-story hotel next to the stadium has just been approved, further expanding Daniel’s ever-growing shrewd business ventures.
Tottenham's new £1billion stadium, opened in 2019, sets the standard for modern developments.
Putting money aside, what these impressive new-builds all have in common is a lack of the once congested, atmospheric fury that accompanied the old-terraced styled grounds. Although supporters have done their damndest to alleviate this problem, with Arsenal successfully creating a set of ultras out of thin air, these developments are missing a soul.
Now I’m too young to have visited The Library or Maine Road but I am pretty certain that the atmosphere would have been better than that of the Etihad. Not only is City’s stadium complete with all-things naff, the Etihad is never full. For a team that enjoys endless success, you would think they could fill their new stadium from time to time.
This is a story, then, that echoes that of the football landscape across the board. The integrity and ingrained tradition that surrounds English football, and the importance the clubs once held for the fans, is rapidly being replaced by commercial greed.
It’s a shame that these historic stadiums are slowly becoming a thing of the past, in topflight football at least. Part of the thrill of going to a football match is going through the fortified turnstiles, standing in a leaky stadium whilst singing the roof off with your compadres. You simply cannot get this experience in the modern arena. Maybe it’s an acoustical issue.
Not only is the physical infrastructure of local communities changing, largely for the better it must be said, but the collective memories of communities are fading too. Decades of emotional investment and generational memories are squandered as the introduction of a wholly new match-day experience is brought to the fore.
It is worth noting that these stadium revamps only affect the cream of the crop. Most clubs across Europe cannot afford to build such monoliths. So for now, this is a conundrum that only a handful of fanbases are experiencing. Over the coming years, however, the balance will, most probably, start to tilt.
The majority of Premier League clubs, and the entirety of the football pyramid below this, remain settled in their various nooks up and down the country. So if you don’t fancy an overpriced pint and an awkward pre-game light show, get yourself down to Millwall’s den, or Luton’s ‘Kenny Road’, made famous for the overly homely feel of its Oak Road stand. Nevertheless, even Luton, a club desperately fighting to retain their spot in the Premier League, have plans to modernise as they intend to move to the Power Court in time for the 26/27 season…
Luton Town's Kenilworth Road- made famous for it's proximity to local housing.
There are, of course, huge positives that accompany these modern stadiums, not least the fact they represent a sustainable future for clubs, ensuring a degree of assured longevity. They highlight an engaged ownership structure who, for whatever reason, want to invest heavily in a club. And finally, maybe there should be something of a grace period for fans to get settled in their new home. Stadiums that have uncompromising character have not acquired such a standing over night. Their modern counterparts surely deserve a similar stab at it. Just look at West Ham in the London Stadium, they seem to be doing alright.
When push comes to shove it's easier to be a critic rather than an optimist. At the end of the day it comes down to what you'd prefer, a nice wooden bench at Fulham's Craven Cottage or a warm padded seat.
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