Credit: Imago
Arsenal are planning an expansion to their Emirates Stadium, and a finance expert has now uncovered the real reason why.
The Gunners moved into the state-of-the-art Emirates in 2006 after spending 93 years at Highbury. It was a switch that the North London club felt would take them to the next level, but almost two decades later, Arsenal still haven’t won a Premier League title there.
According to reports, Arsenal want to expand the Emirates Stadium to over 70,000 seats, although it would require them to play at Wembley Stadium to facilitate building plans.
Football Insider understands that Arsenal could earn £10m+ from an additional 10,000 seats, and that would boost their matchday revenue.
Tottenham are inspiring Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium expansion
Speaking on the Price Is Football podcast, finance expert Kieran Maguire feels the Gunners are planning an expansion because rivals Tottenham have ‘stolen a march’ on them with the commercialisation of White Hart Lane.
“Arsenal are conscious that they are in a competitive market, but Spurs have certainly stolen a march on them in terms of the commercialisation of White Hart Lane, if that’s what it should be called,” Maguire said.
“And therefore, if all the other things are equal, potentially Spurs are generating more money in a season from match day. And that historically would never have been the case.
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“So, they are looking at the possibility of expanding the Emirates Stadium. It’s currently just over 60,000. It looks as if the increase will probably be in the region of only another 10,000 seats.
“People might say, well, you know, is it really worth the effort? Because this is likely to involve Arsenal having to relocate and probably play at Wembley for a couple of seasons. I think it will be worth it from the point of view of the finance director and the compliance with future PSR or its equivalents.”
Maguire then goes on to speak about how more tickets being available to members can only be a good thing, while an extra 10,000 seats opens the possibility of more corporate hospitality.
Perfect year for Arsenal to win the Premier League title
Arsenal haven’t won the top division title since 2004, with Mikel Arteta finally hoping to end their 22-year drought this season.
When issuing his prediction to Football Insider at the end of September, Matt Le Tissier expected Liverpool to prevail over Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
Since then, the Reds have suffered three consecutive defeats in all competitions, while the Gunners have capitalised with back-to-back wins.
Arguably, with talk of a stadium expansion being rife, it’s the perfect year for Arsenal to win the league title ahead of 10,000 more seats available.
Arsenal are already generating the third-most revenue in the Premier League, which shows the power they have over some of their rivals.