Highbury Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as “Highbury” from the name of the district in which it was located, and was given the affectionate nickname of “The Home of Football”.[1]
It was originally built in 1913 on the site of a local college’s recreation ground, and was significantly redeveloped twice. The first reconstruction came in the 1930s, from which the Art Deco East and West Stands date. There was a second development; the first phase, which added executive boxes to the Clock End, was completed in 1989, and afterward in 1993 a new North Bank Stand was constructed. These latter developments both followed the recommendations of the Taylor Report by replacing the terraces to make the stadium an all-seater with four stands. However, further attempts to expand the stadium were blocked by the community, resulting in a reduction in capacity and matchday revenue. This led to Arsenal opting to build a new stadium, the Emirates Stadium. After the club moved to its new stadium upon the conclusion of the 2005–06 season, Highbury was redeveloped as a residential development known as Highbury Square, with the Clock End and North Bank stands being demolished; parts of the East and West Stands remained and were incorporated into the new development due to their listed status.
The stadium also hosted international matches – both for England and in the 1948 Summer Olympics – and FA Cup semi-finals, as well as boxing, baseball and cricket matches.[4] Its presence also led to the local London Underground station being renamed as Arsenal in 1932, making it the only station on the Underground network to be named after a football club.
In addition to its architecture, the stadium was known for its small but immaculate pitch[5] and for the clock that had been positioned in the southern side of the ground since its introduction in 1930.[