Possibly the most fascinating place to live in London is now where Arsenal FC used to play their home games. A site visit to what was once Highbury Stadium.
“We’re practically on the touchline,” says Timothy Auger in the front yard of his small apartment SPOX and GOALS. Where he now sleeps and eats, thousands of red and white fans used to cheer and mob. Grass, bushes and trees grow rampant in the open space in front of his windows. Once upon a time, it was not children and cats that roamed about here, but Arsenal FC players on a perfectly trimmed green lawn.
In 2006, Arsenal left their almost 100-year-old home of Highbury in north London to move to the newly built Emirates Stadium not far away. 60,260 instead of 38,500 places, better marketing opportunities, everything much more modern. Residential buildings were to be built on the site of Highbury Stadium, but there was a problem: the art deco facades of the main and opposite stands are listed buildings.
So they stayed and have since served as the structure for the new homes. Two new buildings were erected in place of the two stands behind the goal, and the playing field in between was transformed into a park that is only accessible to residents. From above, the facility still looks like a stadium.
Entrance area with mosaic and Chapman bust
When Timothy Auger comes home, the white stadium facade with the huge red inscription “Arsenal Stadium” can be seen from afar between all the brick terraced houses in the area. The legendary Marble Halls, where the most important club officials once walked into the stadium, still serve as the entrance area today. A cannon mosaic shines on the floor. A bust of Herbert Chapman, probably the most influential coach in the club’s history, watches over it.
In the 1920s and ’30s, Chapman made Arsenal the best club in the country. He invented the World Cup system that later became established worldwide and won numerous titles with his team. The all-time high attendance record at Highbury also dates back to these times, long before standing room was abolished in England: 73,295 in a duel with AFC Sunderland.
At Arsenal, Chapman not only looked after the sporting aspects, but also the development of the infrastructure. During his tenure, Highbury, built in 1913, was modernized, including the listed main and opposite stands.
Emirates fan chants can be heard all the way to Highbury
Today the stadium contains around 700 apartments. They are not cheap: The monthly rent for a two-room apartment is currently the equivalent of around 2000 euros. “It’s a nice place to live,” says Auger. “You just have to get used to the tourists with their cameras taking photos through the gates all the time. They come from everywhere. China, Australia, everywhere.”
The facility was opened three years after the move by the then coach Arsene Wenger, next to Chapman the second major mover in club history. At that time, Arsenal granted first-time tenants the right of first refusal for season tickets, but the residents now have no special privileges – apart from a free results service. “I always know the current standings of the games,” says Auger. “You can hear the Emirates chants very loud from here.”
The new stadium is just 400 meters away as the crow flies. On the way there you will pass the subway station “Arsenal”. For reasons of prestige, Chapman had successfully applied for the renaming of “Gillespie Road”. In front of the new stadium is a statue of Thierry Henry, who scored the last goal at Highbury in May 2006 to complete a hat-trick – and then kissed the pitch, which is now a park.
