Exclusive: Arsenal’s stadium plan revealed as Stan Kroenke plots new move
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke will look to create more hospitality areas as part of the club’s stadium plans, sources have told Football Insider.
Speculation around Arsenal’s stadium plans has been ongoing for several months as they consider their options for the project.
Arsenal want to expand the Emirates Stadium to over 70,000 seats from its current capacity of 60,700, but it would require them to play at Wembley Stadium to facilitate the development.
Sources say Kroenke and the Gunners’ board will look to be creative with the stadium plans by converting some of their lower-value seats into hospitality areas, increasing their matchday profits.
Manchester United received a backlash from their fans after converting some of the regular seats to hospitality at Old Trafford earlier this year, while Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool have also made similar moves.
How much extra could Arsenal earn from their stadium expansion?
Arsenal moved into the state-of-the-art Emirates in 2006 after spending 93 years at Highbury.
The north London giants’ success has been limited since making the move, having failed to win a Premier League title at their current home despite going close under Mikel Arteta in recent years.
In terms of the financial benefit of increasing the Emirates’ capacity, finance expert Stefan Borson told Football Insider Arsenal could earn up to £13.5million extra a season if they push ahead with their stadium plans.
However, it is understood the Gunners would have to pay hundreds of millions to complete the development.
Arsenal’s location is expected to increase their build costs, while they will also have to pay a fee to play at Wembley.
Tottenham previously paid the FA £15m a year to host their matches at Wembley, where they played the entire 2017-18 season and all but five games in 2018-19.
Spurs’ construction of their 62,850-capacity stadium set the club back more than £1billion in 2019, but it is believed the development would cost significantly more now due to the rise in inflation and build costs.
How much matchday revenue do Arsenal generate?
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast on Thursday (16 October), finance expert Kieran Maguire said Tottenham have “stolen a match” on Arsenal with the commercialisation of their new stadium.
Arsenal generated the third-highest revenue in the Premier League in their latest published accounts for 2023-24, with their turnover surging from £467m in 2022-23 to £617m.
Meanwhile, Tottenham are fifth on the list after their turnover fell from £550m to £528m across the same period.
However, Spurs currently earn the third-highest commercial revenue in the top flight at £255m, while Arsenal’s income in that department stood at £218m.
In terms of matchday revenue, the Gunners generated £132m in 2023-24, with Tottenham bringing in £106m.
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