Apologies if this has been done already...
Now that the first season at the new stadium is over, what do people think of their new home? Has it exceeded, met or fallen short of your expectations?
Would be interesting to hear both fom fans who had years of Highbury experience and little or no Highbury experience.
First season at Emirates Stadium - What do you think?
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DB10GOONER
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I started going to Highbury in 1991. And I loved the place. It was a classy stadium with real character, compared to a lot of the others. I didn't want us to leave, even though I understood the reasons behind the move. So I went into the new place with a bit of a preconceived opinion that I was not going to like it.
My first match over and myself and the Bro had my mate's season tickets in Club Level. I was pleasently surprised by the lack of queues for beer and food and the decor was outstanding. The atmosphere wasn't as bad in Club Level as I had been led to expect but the early leaver/later arriver brigade pissed me off. The atmosphere in the regular seats is better and the queues for beer and food aren't nearly as bad as Highbury's were (especially in the West Lower!
)
The new stadium is a very attractive building in it's own right and since they've sorted out the unfinished concrete car park look and added the giant crests and the clock to the exterior it's beginning to feel like home a little more.
I suppose ten years from now it WILL be home, with it's own traditions and legendary results making it "ours".
I have to say though, that I miss Highbury terribly. I prefer the old girl to the new tart, but this may change over the years to come.
My first match over and myself and the Bro had my mate's season tickets in Club Level. I was pleasently surprised by the lack of queues for beer and food and the decor was outstanding. The atmosphere wasn't as bad in Club Level as I had been led to expect but the early leaver/later arriver brigade pissed me off. The atmosphere in the regular seats is better and the queues for beer and food aren't nearly as bad as Highbury's were (especially in the West Lower!
)The new stadium is a very attractive building in it's own right and since they've sorted out the unfinished concrete car park look and added the giant crests and the clock to the exterior it's beginning to feel like home a little more.
I suppose ten years from now it WILL be home, with it's own traditions and legendary results making it "ours".
I have to say though, that I miss Highbury terribly. I prefer the old girl to the new tart, but this may change over the years to come.
I have been going to both highbury and the grove since about 1990 also. For me the emeriates is currently not coming close to the highbury experiance. Its the same old winge of atmospgere, over reactive stewards, no. of new stadium fever tourists at games and partly i guess our bad season.
Its a long was from being home and is not as enjoyable to be at games at the new stadium, as people say tho, eventually it will eb full of arsenal fans, people will have accustomed to it. I hope next season we see an improvement and eventually it will be home
Will be interesting to see how liverpool cope with their similar change.
Its a long was from being home and is not as enjoyable to be at games at the new stadium, as people say tho, eventually it will eb full of arsenal fans, people will have accustomed to it. I hope next season we see an improvement and eventually it will be home
Will be interesting to see how liverpool cope with their similar change.
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DB10GOONER
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Speaking of the mousers new place, has anyone seen the architects mock ups? I have. It's a total rip off of Cashburton's design! They've just added four huge support struts that kind of make it look like a giant fondue set!!DDignam wrote:Will be interesting to see how liverpool cope with their similar change.
Oh and they made it Sixty ONE thousand capacity, the sad, sad b*stards...
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I Hate Hleb
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Nice Young Tings
DB10GOONER wrote: "I prefer the old girl to the new tart, but this may change over the years to come."
Don't worry mate. Like Wayne Rooney, you will soon grow out of that!
You will find that the older you get, the younger you like them (over 18's only, of course!).
Don't worry mate. Like Wayne Rooney, you will soon grow out of that!
You will find that the older you get, the younger you like them (over 18's only, of course!).
tonysaunders
cakes,cakes,cakes, that's all you think about!!
I prefer our Mrs Robinson...had class, style and elegance. And even though I was intimidated the first time I went to her, the excitement was overwhelming.
I believe that Highbury was something that defined us as a club and encapsulated everything that we were. Now we have a non-descript stadium that looks and feels much the same as any other new stadium. Where is the uniqueness?
Please can someone tell me WHAT is so special about the stadium that make people say it is so fantastic. I have been to stadiums all over Europe and ours is no better than many others.
Now we have a bowl - a big bowl! Thanks, just what I've always wanted.
cakes,cakes,cakes, that's all you think about!!
I prefer our Mrs Robinson...had class, style and elegance. And even though I was intimidated the first time I went to her, the excitement was overwhelming.
I believe that Highbury was something that defined us as a club and encapsulated everything that we were. Now we have a non-descript stadium that looks and feels much the same as any other new stadium. Where is the uniqueness?
Please can someone tell me WHAT is so special about the stadium that make people say it is so fantastic. I have been to stadiums all over Europe and ours is no better than many others.
Now we have a bowl - a big bowl! Thanks, just what I've always wanted.
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Eboue Can't Defend
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- Location: LONDON
NEW STADIUM
Re: The New Stadium,
PROS
Bigger - thus allowing 22,000 extra supporters the chance to see the team
More Comfortable Seating - although the view from my seat in the old North Bank Lower was better than my current one in the East Stand (I'm too close)
Better Facilities - which in theory means shorter queues
More Money Generated - which will allow us to compete for the world's top players ... er, maybe not?
Aesthetically Pleasing - it looks the dogs bollocks and almost everyone who sees it is in awe
Less Ticket Touts - it's much harder for them bastards to make a profit at the expense of the fans
CONS
Atmosphere - not as good as at Highbury apart from Man Utd, Spurs and, at times, games where we were trailing. Contrary to what the club think, the loud p.a. and the introduction of the players European style doesn't help to build up the pre-match noise. Also, let's face facts: we are use to winning and therefore just expect the team to perform in most matches. It's the games where there is some doubt as to the end result that normally conjures up the best atmosphere
Transport/ Parking - not good enough to accommodate the extra numbers
Late Comers & Early Leavers - don't remember that happening at Highbury so much (although it's most probably due to previous reason, as well as more prawn sandwich eaters in attendance)
Ticket Prices - although to be fair, it works out that I pay on average a little less per match than I use to at T.H.O.F.
Smoking Ban - sorry, selfish I know, but it is the reason I don't get into the ground until 15/20 minutes before k.o. However, I must stress that I don't leave the stadium early for the same reason!
Debt - I won't feel totally at ease until the debt incurred building the stadium is wiped out. If it's true that we need around 55,000 each game to guarantee to cover the cost of the club's loan, God forbid we go a few (more?) years without success. What will happen then?
Fan Positioning - it would have been better to leave the Family Enclosure near the new North Stand and allow old Clock-Enders, who enjoy the banter, to trade insults with our visitors from a more advantageous position. I'm sure that it would also help the atmosphere improve.
As you can probably tell, I'm not sure I know the definative answer as to whether it was better to stay at Highbury or move!
Ultimately, I suppose it was inevitable that the club would need to take advantage of the extra 'customers' being attracted to Arsenal, and expanding Highbury sufficiently to accommodate that extra demand was a no-goer.
PROS
Bigger - thus allowing 22,000 extra supporters the chance to see the team
More Comfortable Seating - although the view from my seat in the old North Bank Lower was better than my current one in the East Stand (I'm too close)
Better Facilities - which in theory means shorter queues
More Money Generated - which will allow us to compete for the world's top players ... er, maybe not?
Aesthetically Pleasing - it looks the dogs bollocks and almost everyone who sees it is in awe
Less Ticket Touts - it's much harder for them bastards to make a profit at the expense of the fans
CONS
Atmosphere - not as good as at Highbury apart from Man Utd, Spurs and, at times, games where we were trailing. Contrary to what the club think, the loud p.a. and the introduction of the players European style doesn't help to build up the pre-match noise. Also, let's face facts: we are use to winning and therefore just expect the team to perform in most matches. It's the games where there is some doubt as to the end result that normally conjures up the best atmosphere
Transport/ Parking - not good enough to accommodate the extra numbers
Late Comers & Early Leavers - don't remember that happening at Highbury so much (although it's most probably due to previous reason, as well as more prawn sandwich eaters in attendance)
Ticket Prices - although to be fair, it works out that I pay on average a little less per match than I use to at T.H.O.F.
Smoking Ban - sorry, selfish I know, but it is the reason I don't get into the ground until 15/20 minutes before k.o. However, I must stress that I don't leave the stadium early for the same reason!
Debt - I won't feel totally at ease until the debt incurred building the stadium is wiped out. If it's true that we need around 55,000 each game to guarantee to cover the cost of the club's loan, God forbid we go a few (more?) years without success. What will happen then?
Fan Positioning - it would have been better to leave the Family Enclosure near the new North Stand and allow old Clock-Enders, who enjoy the banter, to trade insults with our visitors from a more advantageous position. I'm sure that it would also help the atmosphere improve.
As you can probably tell, I'm not sure I know the definative answer as to whether it was better to stay at Highbury or move!
Ultimately, I suppose it was inevitable that the club would need to take advantage of the extra 'customers' being attracted to Arsenal, and expanding Highbury sufficiently to accommodate that extra demand was a no-goer.
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green gooner
- Posts: 1828
- Joined: Tue May 22, 2007 5:14 pm
- Location: Derry
I love Highbury more than I love my own mum. But, like it or not, we're stuck with the Grove.
Personally, I think it's alright. Obviously it's an awesome arena, but it doesn't quite feel like home yet. Hopefully there will be the odd bit of 'Arsenalisation' (get it in the dictionary!) around the place over the summer.
May I also just say (rhetorical question) that I'm actually glad we lost at the Grove towards the end of the season. I reckon that the longer the unbeaten record went, the more and more of a burden it would have been. Can you imagine how much more tense it would have been in the Cuntski game if we knew they could well inflict our first defeat there? That would have been rubbish!
Alas, we lost to the cast of EastEnders. Could have been worse, it could have been Totteringham (no, seriously...).
This post has been irrelevant because it repeats basically everything said in previous posts and includes topics that have nothing to do with the thread (unbeaten runs, etc.). So if you're still reading, gutted!
Sorry, it's been a long day at work!
Personally, I think it's alright. Obviously it's an awesome arena, but it doesn't quite feel like home yet. Hopefully there will be the odd bit of 'Arsenalisation' (get it in the dictionary!) around the place over the summer.
May I also just say (rhetorical question) that I'm actually glad we lost at the Grove towards the end of the season. I reckon that the longer the unbeaten record went, the more and more of a burden it would have been. Can you imagine how much more tense it would have been in the Cuntski game if we knew they could well inflict our first defeat there? That would have been rubbish!
Alas, we lost to the cast of EastEnders. Could have been worse, it could have been Totteringham (no, seriously...).
This post has been irrelevant because it repeats basically everything said in previous posts and includes topics that have nothing to do with the thread (unbeaten runs, etc.). So if you're still reading, gutted!
Sorry, it's been a long day at work!
