Arsenal fans have been given a promising update on plans to redevelop the Emirates Stadium, with senior club figures speaking publicly about their ambitions.
Chief executive officer Richard Garlick told The Overlap that the club has been carefully evaluating its options for some time now.
“There is always ambition about growing the club in every which way we can,” Garlick said, outlining the broad scope of the club’s development thinking.
“Facilities, whether it’s at the stadium, training ground, whether it’s supporters around the world – we have plans,” he continued, signalling a wide-ranging approach to growth.
“We have been looking at these for a while now and looking at the options, it is 20 years since we moved to the Emirates and it feels a good time to assess what we can do and how we might go about things,” Garlick added.
Co-Chairman Josh Kroenke also weighed in, offering supporters an encouraging glimpse of what could be coming to the famous north London ground.
“It is a beautiful stadium,” Kroenke said, before referencing SoFi Stadium as a benchmark for best practices to be brought across to Arsenal’s home.
“We have SoFi Stadium and we are going to be working on best practices to try to bring over here and really give the Arsenal supporters something special as well,” Kroenke confirmed.
Arsenal have occupied the Emirates Stadium since relocating from Highbury in 2006, with the ground originally holding a capacity of 60,700 at the time of opening.
The stadium was the largest league ground in London when it opened, but has since been overtaken by Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which holds 62,850, and the London Stadium, home to West Ham United, with a capacity of 62,500.
Arsenal currently hold the fifth-largest ground in the Premier League, providing additional motivation for the planned redevelopment to push the stadium to new heights.
Reports indicate Arsenal are in talks with the architects behind the original Emirates Stadium design, raising the possibility that construction could be handled by familiar hands.
Any significant redevelopment work could require a temporary relocation, with Wembley Stadium already identified as a potential option for the club during that period.
North London rivals Tottenham used Wembley as a temporary home during the 2017/18 season, bridging the gap between White Hart Lane and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Plans for the redevelopment first emerged in October, with ambitions to make the Emirates the biggest Premier League ground in London a clear long-term goal.
Those ambitions may now accelerate following Arsenal’s Premier League title win, with the club eager to make lifting the trophy a regular occurrence after claiming it for the first time in 22 years.
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