The Grove – Hit Or Miss?
May 29th, 2007 by 'holic
When Ken Friar talks of being ‘pleasantly surprised’ by the new stadium in its first year of operation you listen. One side of the brain tells you he was one of the directors responsible for the creation, the other reminds you that this is an Arsenal man through and through.
Now is as good a time as any to take stock of what we think about the place that I cannot still refer to by the name of its sponsor. For me it will be ‘The Grove’ for some time to come. A friend has gone half way to acknowledging the source of the finance by referring to it as ‘The Cameldome”.
Therein lies the perfect introduction to the negatives about the place. Can you imagine any Gooner referring to our previous abode as anything other than ‘Highbury’ or ‘The Arsenal’? The art deco magnificence just the other side of Arsenal station was unique in both appearance and atmosphere. Our family and peers are as attached to the place as us. It is where we watched, cried, smiled, cheered, and laughed together.
The mention of Arsenal station hints at the next issue of concern. Yes, I know it isn’t that long ago we were getting sixty thousand crowds at Highbury and it didn’t cause the queues we have now outside the local stations. That is because large numbers used to be able to travel to the ground by car and park in the vicinity of the stadium. Now nearly ninety percent of supporters have to use public transport, and that means people are leaving games early to beat the queues. Short of locking them in only a significant investment in the transport infrastructure will solve that one.
The other negatives I hear about the place are to do with the cost of refreshments, and the atmosphere on match days. As for refreshments, we all know what the costs are, and if you are deadly honest you know why they have escalated. The caterers have paid the club a small fortune for the franchise, and need to make a return. With a little forethought we can all be fed and watered in the vicinity of the stadium according to our respective budgets. I know I have enjoyed rediscovering the inns and eateries around Holloway Road.
Atmosphere is a tricky subject. We know it can be terrific as evidenced by the Carling Cup semi-final against our friends from up the road, and a couple of the bigger Premiership encounters. True enough, there have been some painfully quiet affairs as well, but do you not recall that was also the case on occasion at Highbury? I think there will be some natural improvement as season-ticket holders begin to migrate to areas of the stadium housing like-minded souls.
Positives? Well the fact that the place has sold out just about every available seat tells you we were desperately in need of the increased capacity. There can also be no doubt that those extra seats are the most comfortable, and have the best sight-lines, you will find in the Premiership.
If you don’t mind paying an extra few bob the catering is actually much better than what we had become used to, and what is available inside grounds elsewhere on our travels. And if anybody from O2 marketing is reading it would be much appreciated if you could continue your ‘free pints for customers’ campaign. That always gets me to the ground twenty minutes before kick-off.
All things considered I have to admit to being of the generations for whom Highbury will always be the spiritual home, but having said that it would not have been too much longer before the old girl would have been showing her age. The Grove won’t have that special place in my heart, but it is now a new, spacious, comfortable and impressive home for my remaining years. Kids today will come to know it as the finest of the new stadiums constructed in the wake of the Taylor Report, The Premiership, and Sky’s millions.
Ken Friar, I can only conclude that you and your colleagues have done Arsenal proud. Thank you. Now, about that name…..
7 Responses to “The Grove – Hit Or Miss?”
The benefit of the new stadium is that more people can get to see the team and clearly the demand is there. Hopefully now that the first season is out of the way the crowd and the team will settle down, and start to generate that atmosphere on more than one or two occasions. It’s certainly a great stadium and in time will start to feel more and more like home.
Getting away from the ground can be a bit of a dampener given the distances that fans travel nowadays. I guess the question must have been asked and answered before but why isn’t it possible to run a service from Drayton Park right outside the ground? That must ease congestion for lots of people. If the club were cute they might even consider partially funding it themselves with a service say an hour after the game ended giving them the chance to recover some of the costs over the bar counters.
Hopefully the club will use the summer to personalise the stadium (for us terrace dwellers anyway) a little further. Maybe a few Arsenal murals on the concourses and such.
As for the transport, does anyone know if there are any plans on the horizon? It would be nice to find out if the early leavers are soley down to that.
Oh for a full stadium on 90 minutes.
Paul, the club recently had a questionnaire on Arsenal.com regarding transport so they seem to be aware of the need to identify and address the problems.
Drayton Park and Holloway Road are currently not options because of Health and Safety Issues. There is a long and complicated story behind why one or both of them were not developed as part of the project. Suffice it to say Arsenal and Transport for London know there is a real issue there. I’m not convinced there is the will to finance the painfully obvious solution though.
In answer to Amos’ question regarding Drayton Park, Network Rail have decided (for some unknown reason) not to run an improved service from the station. I’ve been to serveral meetings with all of the companies dealing with transport issues around the stadium. TfL have a lot to answer for in regards to improving both Arsenal and Holloway Rd underground station. They are trying to blame the club, but it’s just p*ss poor planning and budgeting on Ken Livingstone and his cronies part.
Thanks Trixie. I forgot to mention that Drayton Park is not TfL, and therefore a separate issue. Did I not read that the club had agreed a reduced payment to TfL when the requirements of the planning approval were clearly not going to be met?