List of Figures

Figure 4.1: Evans, L. (2015) Table showing Likert scale statement with mode and mean

of each

Figure 4.2: Evans, L. (2015) Responses to Statement- On match days there is a

noticeable amount of noise and congestion

Figure 4.3: Evans, L. (2015) Responses to Statement- When it’s not match days there is

still a noticeable amount of noise and congestion

Figure 4.4: Evans, L. (2015) Respondents Answers to Question 3

Figure 4.5: Evans, L. (2015) Responses to Statement- The Stadium brings an influx of

tourism which helps local businesses thrive

Figure 4.6: Evans, L. (2015) Responses to Statement- The Emirates Stadium provides a

boost for the local economy

Figure 4.7: Evans, L. (2015) Responses to Statement- There would not be as many

available service and transport links if the stadium was not present

Figure 4.8: Evans, L. (2015) Responses to Statement- The local area would not be as

popular without the stadium

Figure 4.9: Google Maps. (2015) Map showing street locations in relation to The

Emirates and Highbury

Figure 4.10: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Bryantwood Road EQS results (Normal

Day)

1

Figure 4.11: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Bryantwood Road EQS results (Match

Day)

Figure 4.12: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Queensland Road EQS results (Normal

Day)

Figure 4.13: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Queensland Road EQS results (Match

Day)

Figure 4.14: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Drayton Park EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.15: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Drayton Park EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.16: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Highbury Square EQS results (Normal

Day)

Figure 4.17: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Highbury Square EQS results (Match

Day)

Figure 4.18: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Highbury Hill EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.19: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Highbury Hill EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.20: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Avenell Road EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.21: Evans, L. (2015) Web diagram of Avenell Road EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.22: Evans, L. (2015) Column Chart of EQS Overall Scores

Figure 4.23: Evans, L. (2015) Column Chart of Highbury vs Emirates Street Scores

Figure 4.24: Evans, L. (2015) Respondents Positive Answers to Question 6

Figure 4.25: Evans, L. (2015) Respondents Negative Answers to Question 6

2

Figure 4.26: Google Maps. (2015) Map Showing Distance from Stoke Railway Station to

Britannia Stadium

Figure 4.27: Evans, L. (2015) Respondents Answers to Britannia Questionnaire pt 1

Figure 4.28: First. (2015) Stoke City FC Bus Information. [Online] Available from:

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/staffordshire_cheshire/journey_planning/

stoke_city_fc_buses/

Figure 4.29: Evans, L. (2015) Respondents Answers to Britannia Questionnaire pt 2

Figure 5.1: The Telegraph (2015) Premier League’s Broadcasting Deals 1992-2019.

[Online] Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/11403761/Premier-

League-TV-deal-Sky-Sports-break-bank-to-dominate-5.136bn-contract.html

3

List of Photographs

Photo 4.1: Evans, L. (2015) Bryantwood Road (Match Day)

Photo 4.2: Evans, L. (2015) Queensland Road (Match Day)

Photo 4.3: Evans, L. (2015) Drayton Park (Match Day)

Photo 4.4: Evans, L. (2015) Highbury Hill (Match Day)

Photo 4.5: Evans, L. (2015) Finsbury Park Volunteer

Photo 5.1: Evans, L. (2014) Highbury Square Garden

Photo 5.2: Evans, L. (2014) Britannia Traffic Management Sign

Photo 5.3: Evans, L. (2014) Britannia On-site Car Park

Photo 5.4: Evans, L. (2014) Queensland Road Development and Emirates Stadium

Photo 5.5: Evans, L. (2014) Queensland Road Development

4

Abstract

Football Stadiums around the world represent arenas where the world’s most popular

sport is played, such stadiums can have big impacts on the area that surrounds them.

Research from similar studies, questionnaires and environmental quality surveys were

all analysed to determine the scale of these impacts on the local area. In the study site

of London, research showed that The Emirates Stadium is having multiple effects in the

area it resides in, residents opinions show that the stadium has a noticeable impact on

noise levels and congestion, as well as impacts from the community work implemented

by the club itself. Research also found that with it a stadium can bring regeneration to an

area in the form of new housing and services. The accessibility of out of town football

stadiums has also been researched, the case study of The Britannia Stadium shows that

transport links aren’t as available for suburb stadiums, this is evident in the non-existent

rail link to the stadium. Future studies need to be done to gain more detail on this

subject area, also providing more research on the impact of stadiums to the local

economy.

5

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Rationale

Over the past 100 years football has grown into the world’s leading sport and a massive

leading sports industry, out of teams, franchises have been made and enticing

opportunities have opened up for the world’s leading business people to shovel huge

copious of money into clubs to compete at the highest level. As football becomes more

popular and clubs become bigger; infrastructure has to be built to withstand this growth.

On 15th April 1989 an incident occurred that would forever change the requirements for

football ground safety, the Hillsborough disaster forced an inquiry called the Taylor

Inquiry which would later produce two reports, the interim report and the Taylor Report.

The latter set out requirements for clubs to abide by including the introduction of all-

seater stadiums, this coupled with the need for newer modern facilities caused many

football teams to expand or build new stadiums.

The introduction of new modern stadiums in England has encouraged me to find out

the impact of building massive infrastructure in populated areas, it brings up a variety of

questions that I will want to investigate by gathering the opinions of those directly

impacted by the stadium in their everyday lives and analysing this in the discussion

section.

1.2 Aims and Research Questions

In order to gain a purpose for my report and to send me in a certain direction I have

come up with some aims and research questions regarding new football stadiums to

base my research upon.

6

Aims:

To gain an overall understanding of the impact of building a new football stadium

in a populous area

To investigate transport issues surrounding out of town football stadiums

Research questions:

What are the reasons as to why football teams move? - I will investigate the

varying factors as to why it might be that football teams decide to move stadium, I

will conduct secondary research to explain why this is the case.

How are old stadiums used to benefit the local community/economy?- I will refer

to secondary research as well as focusing on the Highbury Stadium as an

example, I will investigate this by visiting the old ground and reviewing its present

uses.

In what ways does a football club engage with the community?- When a football

club moves to an area it is important for them to engage with the local community

to form a bond which can be used to gain the support of the locals. When

investigating Arsenal FC and the Emirates Stadium I will question locals on how

much they know about any community based schemes by the club, I will also look

to see if there is any information on these directly from the club itself.

In what ways are out of town football stadiums accessible and what are the

problems related to this?- For this particular question I will draw on the Brtiannia

7

Stadium case study which is located away from the main residential area of Stoke

on Trent, I will question the fans to gain their opinions on the transport links

available to them from which I can get an idea of the issues as well as the

resolutions to these problems.

How do football stadiums impact the quality of the local area and residents’ daily

life?- A football stadium can bring a huge influence on an area and its people, this

research question heavily relates to my first aim so I have put extra detail into the

research of this question. I have focused on the Emirates stadium and the scale

of its impact on the surrounding area and its residents, to achieve this I have

implemented questionnaires and EQS’s on the local area.

1.3 Dissertation Structure

The structure of my dissertation is split into six main chapters, the first of those is the

introduction where I have made known the topic of my dissertation and the rationale, the

research aims and questions, providing a background on each. The literature review will

put my study in context by examining journals relating to my topic and finding any

research done similar to my study, I will try and find areas that still need to be properly

researched. My methodology comes next and it introduces my key research methods

and why I have chosen them, the methodology also explains how these methods were

implemented and the advantages and disadvantages of using such methods. The fifth

chapter is the research analysis where I have gone over my findings from the research

that took place in Stoke and London, the completed questionnaires and EQS’s will be

8

presented in appropriate graphs and tables alongside a interpretation of each. My final

section is the discussion and conclusion, the discussion will bring together discussed

topics in the introduction and literature review as well as my findings in the research

analysis, during this chapter I have related to my research questions and summarised

my conclusions.

9

2.0 Literature Review

Introducing a football stadium into any community can bring both positive and negative

impacts to the local area introducing varying effects on the new location and the old one.

I will assess both the positive and negative impacts of stadium relocation on the

surrounding area referring to relevant academic literature to strengthen my assessment

and to find a gap in this area of research. Considering the movement of football teams

into new areas brings focus on how sustainable the move is, how it will impact the new

area, what will be left behind in the old area and how the old stadium will be utilised.

The decision to build new football stadiums to replace existing ones comes about due

to the business wanting to expand, “In the nineties, professional football (and

professional sports in general) has become a booming business and an increasingly

marketable commodity; all over Europe. With a significant and notable effect on stadium

redevelopment or relocation.” (van Dam, F, 2000), this commodification of the football

industry has caused football teams to rely more on an inflow of money, from ticket prices

to multimillion TV rights deals this money is used to expand the club. Football clubs also

choose to expand their stadiums to fit in with league regulations brought about by the

Taylor Report or simply just to create more space for potential customers. Another

reason for the introduction of football stadia into a city is to help the growth of the city

and its economy; which Tallon (2010) expands on, “Many cities have made considerable

efforts to build new sports stadia with the intent of attracting a professional sports team

that would provide them with a big city status, a vital and youthful image, and a powerful

vehicle for economic development.” (Tallon, A, 2010, p. 239). Bulley (2002) states that

many stadiums in the UK have achieved this by building on brownfield sites in the cities

10

to bring in other developments nearby to create jobs and bring investment into the area,

he mentions Stoke, Bolton, Middlesbrough and Sunderland these are examples of post-

industrial towns and cities who have used stadia to propel regeneration in the area.

A way of ensuring that regeneration in an area follows the introduction of a football

stadium is the sports team working with the local authority and other partners to help

towards developing the area, Jones and Evans (2013) explain how Arsenal FC have

achieved this following their move to the Emirates by engaging in regeneration activity

such as Newlon Housing to provide affordable housing in the area which there was a

shortage of as well as overseeing the creation of business units and the promotion of

community development projects (Jones, P & Evans, J, 2013, p. 182-183). Gratton,

Shibli & Coleman identifies sporting events as a major platform for city regeneration

stadiums built for sporting events can act as opportunities for football teams to move to

better venues, “Events are a major vehicle for attracting visitors to the city and hence

contributing to urban regeneration.” (Gratton, Shibli & Coleman, 2005). Instead of new

stadia being built to boost regeneration, an existing stadium from after an event, is often

offered to sports teams to take up tenancy in order to help secure the future of the site,

“One way of achieving efficient utilisation of new event venues is to nominate an anchor

tenant for the new facilities in advance of an event.” (Smith, A. 2012, p. 76), this

happened with Manchester City’s current stadium where they agreed a deal to ensure

the future of the site, similar to West Ham securing the Olympic stadium in London, but

the deal for this was agreed after the event.

11

Davies (2008) explains negatives of the jobs brought about by the introduction of

stadiums, “Although comprehensive research has been undertaken on the economic

effects of stadia development since the 1980s, there is little agreement amongst

academics and policy makers as to whether stadia generate net positive outcomes for

local economic development in the longer term.” This is assumed because the jobs that

are created by stadia tend to be low paid and sometimes temporary which is not

beneficial for the economy in the long term, in order to combat this the development

around the football stadium has to be mixed use to bring different types of jobs such as

service jobs, office jobs and creative jobs. This is also assumed as there is little

evidence of successful examples.

Penn (2005) talks about how a football stadium can attract tourists to the area, “They

act as tourist attractions: large numbers come to eat, drink, shop, visit museums and

take tours of the stadia themselves.” (Penn, R. 2005) All cities rely on tourism as part of

its global status and for its local economy, so the introduction of a football stadium is an

important way to bring more visitors to the area. Football is a world known and loved

sport, with the Premier League in England being the most viewed football league in the

world, a lot of interest is brought to the stadiums of the top teams, on match days

especially visitors to the local area are expected to boom and they are likely to spend

their money in the local area thus helping the local economy. “Football can be active in

local development by preventing spending leakage, persuading people to visit the area,

and acting as a positive image for the locality, thereby encouraging economic growth.”

(Johnstone, Southern & Taylor, 2000).

12

Football teams moving from an area can have a big impact on the economy, “These

will likely impact on established uses and activities adjacent to the ground.” (Black &

Lloyd, 1994); many businesses who relied on the visitors to stadium would have to move

on or shut down, merchandisers, food outlets, pubs, leisure and retail businesses and

restaurants would all be hit hard. House prices in the area would be likely to drop in

contrast to the house prices rising when the stadium was introduced. Larger name

businesses who were in the area because of the stadium might also be likely to move on

which thus damaging the local economy even more, alternatively, this could be

beneficial for smaller businesses as there would be less competition. Although these

impacts show a disadvantage for the area losing the stadium, there are some

advantages that need to be considered, the increased congestion, noise pollution and

hooliganism would be greatly reduced in the area adding to the quality of life for

residents.

In order for a football team to move location it must overcome a number of barriers.

Football fans are known to share a strong bond with their teams and the location as to

where their team is situated, “English football clubs pride themselves on their home

ground being central to their heritage and identity. Stadiums are viewed in emotional

terms that one usually associates with places of religious worship.” (Kennedy, D. 2012),

moving from a stadium that the fans have grown to love can raise different problems for

the football club, in order to overcome these problems clubs have to communicate with

the fans. In an attempt to do this, Football Clubs like to hear opinions of their fans and

they set up polls and surveys to see what the fans want as well as listening to their

13

ideas, Everton FC have done this as noted by Kennedy (2012) where they conducted a

ballot of 38,000 season ticket holders, they received a 59% positive vote of their

proposed move away from Goodison Park. This move still sparked up debate with the

people opposing the move and the proposed move didn’t go ahead showing what

impact the fans can have. West Ham United have done the same as Everton FC in their

proposed move to the Olympic Stadium and have conducted a poll for their high profile

fans on their views of the proposed move, a quote from the website says, “Vice-

Chairman Karren Brady actively encouraged all supporters to take part and have their

say on what is set to be the biggest decision to be made by the Club in the last 100

years.” (West Ham United, 2014), the poll received 85% positive voters and the move is

going ahead. Football fans like to see and remember the heritage that their stadium has

been a part of, when leaving a stadium the football club must ensure that some of the

heritage that is left behind is savoured for the fans to enjoy. The development team of

the old West Ham United ground have agreed that their main buildings will be named

after West Ham legends and sculptures and works of art will be made to commemorate

the rich history of the club, this is an example of an attempt to pay respect to the fans

and the history of the club.

Growing concerns about climate change and global warming have put more focus on

local environments and sustainable development, In order for a stadium relocation to be

sustainable it must be relocated to an area with strong transport links, this will ensure

congestion is kept at a minimum whilst also making sure the stadium is easily

accessible. “There are large areas of suburban development with no real public

14

transport service in most car-based cities.” (Newman & Kenworthy, 2000, p. 118),

relating to the quote the easiest way for this to be successful is to relocate in or nearby

the city centre where transport links are abundant, or to expand the transport links near

the suburbs. Another environmental aspect of choosing a location to move stadium is

the choice to build on a brownfield or a greenfield site, the brownfield site would use less

green space and would help with the regeneration of the city whereas the greenfield site

would require less planning permission and would be more spacious, although

brownfield sites are often avoided, De Sousa identifies them as risky ventures, “they

may be contaminated, thus making them too expensive, time-consuming and risky to

redevelop profitably.” (De Sousa, 2010). Choosing a site for a stadium takes a lot of

careful planning and the previous points need to be taken into consideration.

Football stadiums play a big role in the city; they contribute to the local economy in

different ways by attracting tourism in the area whilst also helping other businesses

thrive nearby. Stadiums also give the city a key landmark to focus regeneration around

and help bring in investment to fuel this; there has been evidence of house prices being

driven up due to the introduction of a stadium in an area, such as the case with the

Emirates Stadium and the New Wembley. When a football stadium relocates to a new

area this can adversely affect the left behind community with job loss, decrease in house

price and loss of interest in the area, but contrastingly the area may become a more

desirable place to live in terms of less pollution and congestion.

Planners of stadia relocation can face a variety of problems, social, economic and

environmental. Those that I have identified are club supporters in protest of the move,

forcing the football club to get on their side or to change their plans to suit them, another

15

is the legislation and restriction of building on a new site, and finally I have identified the

environmental problems relating to sustainability such as vital transport links need to be

considered as well as whether to build on a brownfield or a greenfield site.

Overall stadia play a big part in the local economy, providing jobs, tourism, investment

opportunities, boosting regeneration and providing a service, in today’s world they

become very important and local communities can become dependent of them to

flourish, which causes problems when they leave to a new area.

There is a lot of research on football stadiums and what role they play but I feel that

not enough research has been done on the impact on residents and the immediate area

caused by introducing a stadium to a populated area, an interesting way to do this would

be to gain opinions of residents living near a major stadium and asking what impact it

has on their lives. There is also little research on how important transport links are to a

stadium and its accessibility, out of town football stadiums can be at risk to being cut off

from fans, I will investigate how this can be overcome by providing essential transport

links, I will also look at the problems associated with the accessibility of an out of town

stadium with regards to a case study.

16

3.0 Methodology

3.1 Strategy/Methods

For my project research I have employed a variety of suitable methods to obtain the

relevant data and information required, for the Arsenal case study I have used mailed

questionnaires, EQS’ (Environmental Quality Surveys) and I have also taken photos in

each of my study areas to illustrate points that I am to make in my discussion. For my

Stoke case study I have carried out face to face questionnaires and have taken photos

of relevant subjects.

Questionnaires were carried out in similar studies by Davies, L (2005), Hritz, N (2010)

and Basser, Z & Jaggernath, J (2010), they have utilised this form of qualitative research

to gain opinions from the public on the impact of stadia or sports related events on the

local area. The questionnaires I have used on the Emirates Stadium site would give me

the chance to investigate some of my research questions, keeping this in mind I asked

questions on the how the stadium engages with the community and how it impacts their

lives. In this questionnaire I demonstrated a variety of question types, open questions to

gain a detailed response when required and closed questions to gain opinions which

can be displayed in a table or graph. I also conducted a questionnaire in Stoke, although

it wasn’t a posted questionnaire it was similar to the Emirates questionnaire in the way it

was short and concise containing a mixture of question types. The aim of the Stoke

questionnaire was to see how accessible the Britannia stadium was in the eyes of

supporters, hoping to gain an insight of any problems and how they could be resolved.

I chose to do an EQS as I felt it would help me determine impact of the Emirates

Stadium on streets nearby, I did six EQS’ on a match day and another six in the same

17

areas on a normal day to compare the difference when an event is taking place in the

area. The EQS I constructed included observations on the quality of buildings,

congestion, vandalism, litter, amount of green areas, noise pollution, condition of

infrastructure and street lighting. Three were conducted in close proximity to the

Emirates and another three were in the vicinity of the old Highbury ground, three were

done by the Highbury ground because I wanted to see the quality of the area since the

move to the Emirates and how it compared to areas nearby the new ground. I felt that by

using EQS’ I would gain an understanding of how a football stadium can impact the

quality of the local area.

3.2 Implementation

I designed my Emirates Stadium questionnaires so that they would draw in the reader

and engage them, “In the case of a questionnaire, as there is no one to explain the

meaning of questions to respondents, it is important that questions are clear and easy to

understand.”(Kumar, R, 2005, p. 126), this was achieved by providing different types of

open and closed questions, such as fill in the blank questions (how long have they lived

next to the Emirates), Likert type scaling and open question invoking a detailed

response, the layout and length of the questionnaire was also done so it would not seem

too convoluted or confusing. As my questionnaires in London were posted to residents I

had to make sure I would receive a workable amount of responses this was achieved by

not only producing a succinct easy to understand questionnaire but also by supplying a

return envelope with stamp included to reduce the effort needed from the respondent.

From sixty questionnaires sent I received twenty four back which is a response rate less

18

than half but one which I will be able to gain an idea of what impact the stadium has on

people’s day to day lives. “Providing clear background information and lucid instructions

is an essential part of good survey instrument construction.” (O’Leary, Z, 2004, p. 160), I

made sure that I included a cover letter and confidentiality pledge with each

questionnaire, the cover letter gave relevant background information about my course

and my study as well as contact details and instructions of how to return the

questionnaire. The Emirates Stadium questionnaires and EQS’ were both carried out at

the same time on two separate occasions, on Saturday 30th August 2014 and Sunday

11th January 2015 (match day), forty questionnaires were posted around on the former

day and twenty were posted on the latter, the second round of questionnaires were only

posted due to the low response rate on the first round. The households were chosen at

random whilst also paying attention to the “no junk mail” signs on certain doors; I made

sure that I didn’t stray too far away from the stadium when posting the questionnaires so

that I gained results from households in the immediate area. On the match day I made

sure that I conducted my research safely, I posted the questionnaires and filled out the

EQS’ during the match so I wouldn’t get slowed down or caught up in congestion. I

coordinated finishing the research methods with the end of the match so I could witness

the congestion and noise levels when fans are travelling from the stadium, this also

allowed me to see the congestion affecting the London Underground.

The Britannia Stadium questionnaires were designed to gain the fans perspective on

the accessibility of the stadium, the questions were designed to be brief as fans were

most likely to be in a rush, but the quality of the questions was still good enough to get

valuable information. The questionnaires were carried out on Saturday 6th December

19

2014 which was a match day, this was so there were enough fans to ask my questions

to. I carried out the questionnaires before the game so that I wouldn’t risk getting caught

up with unhappy fans after the match, in the end I managed to get eighteen completed

questionnaires which is a satisfactory amount to gain a decent insight to the problems

fans face with transport to and from the stadium.

3.3 Reflection

Overall I believe that the research methods I implemented were a good match for my

project, the questionnaires for the Emirates contained a vast amount of information on

people attitudes towards the stadium and the EQS’ helped me establish the differences

in the areas around the stadium on a match day and on a normal day as well as the

differences between the streets around the Emirates and the street around the old

ground.

Questionnaire Strengths and Weaknesses:

The questionnaire I used allowed me to gain responses which I could easily

analyse, including Likert scales as well as having open questions to gain a more

detailed response.

The questionnaires were posted, this allowed respondents to take more time

answering the questions which helps get a more thought about response,

respondents may also not feel so shy about their responses when alone.

Using questionnaires saved time compared to other research methods, for

example posting a questionnaire is much more efficient that sitting down and

spending time doing an interview and then transcribing.

20

There is typically a low response rate for posted questionnaires, although I tried

to combat this by making the questionnaires easy to return, to fill out and made

them engaging.

“Those who return their questionnaires may have attitudes, attributes or

motivations that are different to those who do not.” (Kumar, R, 2005, p.130)

People who have returned their questionnaires to me may be likely to oppose the

stadium, whereas people who don’t return it may have no problem with it.

Sending out questionnaires was costly, costs included travelling to London and

the price of envelopes, stamps and ink, which limited the amount I could send

out.

EQS Strengths and Weaknesses:

Bi-polar scoring allows you to get a score for each areas making it easier to

compare the streets environmental quality in the results.

EQS’ are easy to fill out, which saves time compared to other methods.

Cheap to administer.

Requires no human interaction, so no permission is needed and this can’t limit

results.

As EQS’ are straightforward to fill out there can be a loss of quality in the results,

the bi-polar scoring will not go into as much detail as a questionnaire or interview.

Some factors can vary on an EQS depending on what day you go, this could

include congestion, litter and noise; I went on both a match day and a non-match

day to help reduce this variety.

21

If I were to redo this project and money or time wasn’t an issue there would be some

things which I could do to improve my results. Due to money restrictions I was only able

to make two trips down to the Emirates, if I was to do it again I would visit the stadium

frequently to post more questionnaires and to do a thorough evaluation of the area as

well as some interviews. In regards to the Britannia Stadium work I would also make

more trips down there to receive more questionnaire responses, this would enable me to

get a lot more information on the available transport and opinions from the fans. If

money wasn’t an object I could experience the different travelling methods to and from

the stadium, including trains, car transport, buses and cycling.

22

4.0 Results

4.1 Emirates Questionnaire Analysis

During my visit to the Emirates Stadium I posted a number of questionnaires in an

attempt to gain opinions of residents who are living near to the stadium. The

questionnaire was designed to investigate the impacts living near to a stadium may have

on their life and the influence it has on the immediate area around it. From twenty four

respondents, I have been provided with a suitable amount of important information

which I have analysed to help me discuss my initial research questions in greater detail

and to gain an understanding of how the Emirates Stadium affects the people around it.

In my questionnaire I used a Likert type scale to get the respondents opinions on

questions I had about the Emirates Stadium’s impact, using SPSS I have retrieved the

mode and range for the different opinions on all six statements I fielded in the Likert type

scale.

Statistics

There would not

be as many

available

services and

transport links if

the stadium was

not present

On match days

there is a

noticeable

amount of noise

and congestion

The local area

would not be as

popular without

the stadium

The Emirates

Stadium

provides a boost

for the local

economy

When it's not

match day there

is still a

noticeable

amount of noise

and congestion

The stadium

brings an influx

of tourism which

helps local

businesses

thrive

N Valid 24 24 24 24 24 23

Missing 0 0 0 0 0 1

Mode Disagree Agree Disagree Agree Disagree Neutral

Range Neutral Neutral Agree Neutral Disagree Neutral

23

Figure 4.1 Table showing Likert scale statement with mode and mean of each

Figure 4.1 shows the mode and range for all six questions as well as any missing values

there were from where respondents didn’t answer due to them not understanding the

question or simply them not wishing to answer. Below the six questions are reviewed in

more detail including the full spread of the respondents answers.

Figure 4.2 and 4.3 show the respondents opinions on the difference of the amount of

noise and congestion on a match day and on a normal day, in figure 4.2 there is a clear

24

Figure 4.2: Responses to Statement- On match days there is a noticeable amount

of noise and congestion

Figure 4.3: Responses to Statement- When it’s not match days there is still

a noticeable amount of noise and congestion

On match days there is a noticeable amount of noise and congestion

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Strongly Agree 8 33.3 33.3 33.3

Agree 12 50.0 50.0 83.3

Neutral 3 12.5 12.5 95.8

Disagree 1 4.2 4.2 100.0

Total 24 100.0 100.0

When it's not match day there is still a noticeable amount of noise and congestion

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Strongly Agree 2 8.3 8.3 8.3

Agree 2 8.3 8.3 16.7

Neutral 5 20.8 20.8 37.5

Disagree 9 37.5 37.5 75.0

Strongly Disagree 6 25.0 25.0 100.0

Total 24 100.0 100.0

majority view that there is a noticeable amount of noise and congestion on a match day

with 50% of respondents agreeing and 33.3% strongly agreeing with the statement,

whereas the remaining 16.7% either disagreed or were neutral. In comparison figure 4.3

shows that when it’s not match day there is much less of a noise and congestion impact,

with 62.5% of respondents disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with the statement,

although this isn’t as conclusive as the last statement the majority of people disagree.

Figure 4.4: Respondents Answers to Question 3

Figure 4.4 shows question 3 of the questionnaire, when respondents were asked to

name problems with living near to the stadium respondent 13 and 24 both noted that

stadium was also used as a site for music concert on non-match days, this use for the

stadium could explain why four respondents stated that there was still a noticeable

amount of noise on normal days.

25

13 Noise/CongestionMusic concerts. Getting to hypermarket in matchdays.

24 Noise/Disruption

Match day access restrictions for residents and transport - use of the stadium for concerts in the close season.

ID Category Narrative

The stadium brings an influx of tourism which helps local businesses thrive

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Disagree 3 12.5 13.0 13.0

Neutral 10 41.7 43.5 56.5

Agree 6 25.0 26.1 82.6

Strongly Agree 4 16.7 17.4 100.0

Total 23 95.8 100.0

Missing .00 1 4.2

Total 24 100.0

Figure 4.5 and 4.6 show respondents answers to questions about how the Stadium

affects the local economy, figure 4.5 shows responses on the statement that the stadium

brings in tourism which helps the businesses thrive, many respondents thought that

tourism neither does nor doesn’t help businesses in the area or that the stadium does or

doesn’t bring tourism with it, with a majority of the respondents lying under neutral and

one missing value. Of the remaining respondents, ten of them either agreed or strongly

agreed with the statement which implies that a large proportion of the remaining

respondents do believe that the Emirates introduces tourism into the area consequently

26

Figure 4.5: Responses to Statement- The stadium brings an influx of tourism

which helps local businesses thrive

Figure 4.6: Responses to Statement- The Emirates Stadium provides a boost

for the local economy

The Emirates Stadium provides a boost for the local economy

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Disagree 2 8.3 8.3 8.3

Neutral 6 25.0 25.0 33.3

Agree 14 58.3 58.3 91.7

Strongly Agree 2 8.3 8.3 100.0

Total 24 100.0 100.0

helping local businesses succeed. Figure 4.6 shows responses based on whether the

stadium provides a boost for the local economy as a whole, the responses on this

statement were clearly more unanimous than the previous statement, as 58.3% of

respondents agreed with the statement whilst only 8.3% disagreed.

27

Figure 4.7: Responses to Statement- There would not be as many available

services and transport links if the stadium was not present

Figure 4.8: Responses to Statement- The local area would not be as

popular without the stadium

There would not be as many available services and transport links if the stadium was

not present

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Strongly Disagree 2 8.3 8.3 8.3

Disagree 15 62.5 62.5 70.8

Neutral 4 16.7 16.7 87.5

Agree 3 12.5 12.5 100.0

Total 24 100.0 100.0

The local area would not be as popular without the stadium

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Valid Strongly Disagree 1 4.2 4.2 4.2

Disagree 9 37.5 37.5 41.7

Neutral 5 20.8 20.8 62.5

Agree 7 29.2 29.2 91.7

Strongly Agree 2 8.3 8.3 100.0

Total 24 100.0 100.0

Figure 4.7 shows residents’ responses to the statement “There would not be as many

available services and transport links if the stadium was not present”. From looking at

the given responses it is clear to see the majority of residents do not think that this

statement is true, with 70.8% of them disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with

statement. This is partially backed up in figure 4.8 where 41.7% of respondents felt that

the local area would be as popular without the stadium which would suggest that they

would also be the respondents who thought that the services and transport would still be

there without the stadium. This was only partially backed up as 37.5% of respondents in

figure 4.8 agreed with the statement, this mixed opinion on the statement given

represents a varying view from residents of how the area would be without the Emirates

Stadium. This could be due to some of the respondents living in the area before the

stadium was introduced, therefore they would know what the area would be like without

the stadium.

4.2 EQS Analysis

Whilst at the Emirates Stadium I conducted a number of EQS’ on various streets, three

streets near the Emirates Stadium and three streets near the old Highbury ground, these

tests were done both on a normal day and on a match day to record the difference in a

number of factors at the designated streets, the three streets near the Emirates Stadium

are Bryantwood Road, Drayton Park and Queensland Road, whereas the three streets

near to Highbury are Highbury Hill, Highbury Park and Avenell Road as shown overleaf

in figure 4.9.

28

Figure 4.9: Map showing street locations in relation to The Emirates and Highbury

Source: Google Maps

29

Photo 4.1 Bryantwood Road (Match Day)

Figure

4.10 and 4.11 show the EQS results for Bryantwood Road, these results show that there

is a deterioration of the area on a match day, although

not huge, there is an increased amount of parked cars

and a lot more noise heard from the stadium, there was

also surprisingly less litter on a match day, photo 4.1

shows the street on a match day during the game, as

seen there are a lot of parked cars along the street as

well as minimal green areas.

30

Figure 4.10: Web diagram of Bryantwood Road EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.11: Web diagram of Bryantwood Road EQS results (Match Day)

Photo 4.2 Queensland Road (Match Day)

Figure 4.12 and 4.13 show EQS

results for Queensland Road, the main observation from these charts is the increase of

congestion on a match day, this is due to the appearance of a number of coaches to

transport fans away from the game as seen in photo 4.2, this attributes to the noise

pollution in the area on a match day, the charts show the fall from four points to one. On

a normal day this street is very desirable although

there are no green spaces for residents.

31

Figure 4.12: Web diagram of Queensland Road EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.13: Web diagram of Queensland Road EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.14: Web diagram of Drayton Park EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.15: Web diagram of Drayton Park EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.14 and 4.15 show the scores of the Drayton Park EQS’, on a match day there

are many more parked cars along the road, there is also much higher noise pollution as

the street runs directly alongside the stadium, this street is a major walking path for

those fans entering and exiting the stadium which ramps up the volume even more.

Photo 4.3 shows the street on a match day during a game, food and souvenir stalls are

set up along this street and there is high pedestrian

count.

32

Photo 4.3 Drayton Park (Match Day)

Figure 4.16: Web diagram of Highbury Square EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.17: Web diagram of Highbury Square EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.16 and 4.17 show the state of Highbury Square on a normal day and a match

day, the scores on the EQS’ are identical, this is due to the area being completely

closed off on a match day. Highbury Square is the site of the old Highbury ground which

has been completely regenerated to hold top of the range apartments, the site is far

enough away from the Emirates Stadium to receive little noise pollution on match days.

Figure 4.18 and 4.19 show the EQS

results for Highbury Hill, the main change to

notice is the amount of parked cars in the area, as shown in

the charts and photo 4.4, there is an increased amount

during a match day. Along with a number of the other sites the

noise levels also increase a considerable amount on a

match day.

33

Photo 4.4 Highbury Hill (Match Day)

Figure 4.18: Web diagram of Highbury Hill EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.19: Web diagram of Highbury Hill EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.20 and 4.21 show the results for Avenell Road, this street is the furthest away

from the Emirates but it isn’t immune to the effects of a match day, the noise pollution is

higher on a match day but not by much, when I visited on both occasions there was

slightly more litter and more parked cars.

34

Figure 4.20: Web diagram of Avenell Road EQS results (Normal Day)

Figure 4.21: Web diagram of Avenell Road EQS results (Match Day)

Figure 4.22: Column Chart of EQS Overall Scores

Figure 4.22 compares the overall scores of the EQS’ on both a match day and a normal

day, the scores show that each street deteriorates on a match day which is to be

expected, Highbury Park exhibits the smallest change out of all the streets which is due

to the privacy of the area on a match day. The biggest changer is Drayton Park, situated

the closest to the stadium it is not surprising to see the decrease in score on a match

day, attributed to the noise levels, congestion and litter.

Figure 4.23 shows the comparison of the EQS results between the three streets situated

close to the Highbury Ground and the three streets closer to the Emirates Stadium both

35

Figure 4.23: Column Chart of Highbury vs Emirates Street Scores

on a normal day and on a match day. Expectedly the Highbury streets receive a higher

rating than the Emirates streets on both occasions, although this difference is not as

high as I was expecting. The Emirates Stadium has clearly had a bigger influence on the

streets closer to it, with noise levels, congestion and pedestrian count all rising,

especially on a match day. Despite the distance away from the Emirates Stadium, the

Highbury streets are still in reach to feel some effects of the Emirates, which is evident in

the results found.

4.3 Arsenal and the Community

In my research questions I wanted to find out how football clubs engaged with the local

community in terms of projects and schemes and how aware the people living near the

stadium are of these.

In my questionnaires I fielded a question asking how much the residents knew about

any projects associated with the club, I received a very mixed bag of responses. Ten of

my twenty four respondents said they had not heard of any projects set by the club

which would suggest there is not too much notice of any events or projects sent out by

Arsenal, but on the flip side there were some positive comments about the club.

36

ID Response Narrative

20 YesThey sponsor football pitches we had a street party & they lent us some goals & balls

21 Yes

Outreach work with schools and local street parties. Lots of work with churches, youth clubs, schools etc. anti bullying

22 Yes

I know they have projects but don't know any details - Arsenal got a lot of land - They put on events as well as football - They should pay staff a living wage

23 YesThey are actively involved in the local schools (touting prizes etc.) Little else

24 YesFootball coaching & competitions for youth. Arsenal sponsor education, computer training.

Figure 4.24 shows some of the positive response from the residents, there seems to be

a lot of focus around supporting the local youth with various schemes and outreach

work, as well as help with the local schools. This is also evident on the Arsenal FC

website where under “the club” section there is information on The Arsenal Foundation,

quoting the webpage; “The Arsenal Foundation focuses on work that motivates and

inspires young people - often through education and sport - to help them reach their

potential and become the best they can be.” (Arsenal, 2015). Arsenal in the Community

is a more localised initiative where the focus is giving back to the community, “Over the

years, the club has developed community programmes across a range of areas which

deliver both sporting and social outcomes. Projects range from sport and education, to

health and social inclusion which are often a springboard to training and employment.”

(Arsenal, 2015) This community work outside of football sets a great example of how

clubs should act and shows just how much of an impact a Football Club can have.

37

Figure 4.24: Respondents Positive Answers to Question 6

Whilst I was visiting the Emirates I experienced this community work first hand, at the

end of the match there are huge queues outside the tube stations, the tube station

Finsbury Park had a volunteer helper outside with a megaphone shown in Photo 4.5,

this was a great way to collect donations for a local homeless shelter.

Photo 4.5 Finsbury Park Volunteer

Although there are many examples of community help and charity I picked up a few

examples of negativity from the questionnaires I handed out. For example in Figure 4.25

respondent 11 and 15 indicated that Arsenal promised local initiatives for sports facilities

and residential flats but the club broke these promises, in ID 11’s response he indicates

AFC not providing sports facilities for school children, this statement is contradictory to

the majority of work Arsenal does which is with local schools and young children, this

possibly indicates the lack of communication between the club and it’s nearby residents.

38

ID Response Narrative

11 Yes

I have heard that AFC promised various things for the community (e.g. sports facilities for school children) and then broke their promises

4.4 The Britannia Stadium and Travel

In my research questions I wanted to find out what the issues surrounding the

accessibility of out of town football stadiums, a great example of this is the Britannia

Stadium home of Stoke City FC. The old stadium which was home to Stoke City FC, the

Victoria Ground, was in a central location in Stoke on Trent. The club decided to move

out of town in 1997 to the Britannia Stadium, located just off a roundabout on the A500

around 3.3 km away from Stoke on Trent train station as shown in Figure 4.26.

Moving to an out of town stadium can cause

a variety of problems for fans trying to

attend a match, I visited the Britannia on a

match day to experience some of the travel

options myself and to administer

questionnaires to travelling Stoke fans. The

39

13 NoThey donated £5k to local primary school which seemed a bit mean

15 Yes

I understand Arsenal FC promised lots of local initiatives to gain planning permission for the stadium & subsequently residential flats. I am not aware they fulfilled any of the promises

19 No

Very sorry that they did not replace the publicly accessible football training pitch (was at old Highbury)

Figure 4.25: Respondents Negative Answers to Question 6

Figure 4.26: Map Showing Distance from Stoke Railway Station to Britannia Stadium

Source: Google Maps

main problem I saw from the questionnaires I handed out was the problems getting from

the train station to the stadium.

Figure 4.27 shows the fans views on the train station problem, one suggestion was to

have another train station near the stadium but I could not see that happening, buses do

run to the stadium but not from the train station itself (shown in Figure 4.28), a simple

solution to the problem would be

to add an extra stop at the train

station making it easier for those

travelling by train.

40

ID Travel Time Mode of Travel Narrative

11 30 mins Train & Walk

Train station is very far away from stadium, makes access much more diffi cult, a train station near the stadium would improve things.

17 45 mins Train & Taxi Access to stadium from station a problem.

Figure 4.27: Respondents Answers to Britannia Questionnaire pt 1

Another problem raised was the availability of buses on midweek or Sunday matches

(Figure 4.29), this is coupled with the problem of massive queues for buses after the

game, the problem could easily be avoided with more frequent buses at this time but

that could cause more congestion.

Moving a stadium away from an urbanised area can cause many issues relating to

transport if the new stadium isn’t located strategically, the Britannia Stadium has some

transport problems but it combats these in a number of ways. A huge car park surrounds

the ground facilitating easy parking for fans as well as coach parking, many bus stops

also surround the ground and a walking and cycling route located in between the Trent

and Mersey Canal and the A500, if a stadium doesn’t take into consideration such

transport needs, it is destined to fail.

41

7 25 mins Bus/Coach

Could have buses to travel to the ground. Night matches & Sunday matches not as frequent.

12 40 mins Car & Walk

Awkward ground, pain to get home. Queues for the buses after game are very long.

Figure 4.28: Stoke City FC Bus Information Source: First

Figure 4.29: Respondents Answers to Britannia Questionnaire pt 2

5.0 Discussion and Conclusion

5.1 What are the reasons as to why football teams move?

A football team can move stadium for a few reasons, this can be due to economic

benefits or to abide by legislation set by the 1990 Taylor Report.

In recent years, especially from the 90’s onwards the football industry has grown a

large amount, football teams are being seen more and more as businesses rather than

just a sports team, money has been flowing into the game through different sources, TV

rights deals, sponsorships and rising transfer fees are all attributing to this. Malcolm

42

(2000) highlights the importance of TV rights to football clubs, “Television companies

(funded by their subscribers and advertisers) continue to pay considerable, and ever

increasing, sums of money in return for the rights to schedule and broadcast fixtures.”

(Malcolm, D, 2000). With the expanding football business these TV rights deals have

exploded more recently with the latest Premier League deal for the 2016-19 seasons

rights going for £5.136bn, which will be split between the top flight teams (The

Telegraph, 2015), Figure 5.1 shows the increase in TV rights revenue from 1992 to

2019, increasing from a total of £191m to £5.1bn.

The rise in the commodification of football

has

encouraged clubs to make more economically beneficial decisions, one of these is to

relocate or expand their football stadium. This is done to increase stadium capacity, in

turn allowing more fans into the ground and therefore gaining more revenue from ticket

prices and purchases made inside the stadium. Moving to a modern stadium can also

give a club a bigger profile, resulting in increased tourism and possibly new investment.

As a result of the Hillsborough disaster, the Taylor Report was published in 1990

which consequently making stadiums in the higher tiers of the English and Scottish

leagues to be all-seaters. To make this possible most clubs had to expand their stadium,

43

Figure 5.1: Premier League’s Broadcasting Deals 1992-2019 Source: The Telegraph

and if this was not possible due to space requirements or problems with planning

permission then they had to relocate.

5.2 How are old stadiums used to benefit the local community/economy?

When football teams move to a different football stadium a lot of questions are raised

over what happens to the old site, if utilised well, the old stadium can still play a vital role

in the community that it resides in, this can be done by using it to hold events or

renovating it to serve a different purpose.

When I visited the Emirates Stadium I also took a trip to the old Highbury Ground to

see what had become of the once influential building of the Highbury area. The stadium

which was once there is now being used as an apartment complex of a very high quality,

the Clock End and the North Bank were demolished and replaced with apartments whilst

the East and West stands remain listed and so can’t be demolished. “The Art Deco

façades of Highbury’s old Grade II-Listed East Stand, with its famous Marble Hall, and

the locally-listed West Stand have been preserved, in order to retain the iconic status of

the site.” (Arsenal, 2013)  The pitch has been made into gardens, as buildings can’t be

built on it, which brings some green space to the apartment complex adding to the

general aesthetics of the project, (shown in photo 5.1).

44

Photo 5.1 Highbury Square Gardens

The Highbury Square project can be seen as a successful use of an old stadium which

has created more homes and jobs in the local community as well as keeping the

memories of the old ground where it once resided. Alternatively if an old stadium is not

utilised it often lays derelict serving no use to anyone, this has happened in Stoke on

Trent with the Old Victoria Ground which has been vacant since it was left in 1997, plans

have been made to build houses on the ground but up to present nothing has come to

fruition. When stadiums are demolished and the land lays vacant this can prove to be an

eyesore in the area it is located as well as proving to be no use to the community.

Unused stadiums need to follow the Highbury Ground which is an exemplar use of an

old stadium being a part of the community and using available land space which

otherwise would be derelict.

5.3 In what ways does a football club engage with the community?

45

The best way for a football club to gain support of its local residents is to engage with

the community through schemes and projects with aims to improve and help it. I looked

at the initiatives that Arsenal FC are involved with and how they engage with community

they’re in, I also gathered opinions from the residents of how much they’ve heard about

these initiatives and how they have influenced them. From Arsenal’s website there is

much evidence of them helping with the community with several projects they have set

up including the Arsenal Foundation and Arsenal in the Community which are both

organisations that help vulnerable people in the area as well as providing sporting

facilities for young children. Although there is a lot of evidence of Arsenals involvement

in the community, there was a mixed response from the residents which I gained

opinions from in my questionnaire, a lot of them were not aware of any projects or work

with the community going on, and two residents stated that any promises the club did

make about community work, they had not gone through with them. These results

suggest that the club is not doing enough to raise awareness of such projects going on,

although they are involved they are perhaps not doing enough to make people know

about them so they can take part and help out.

A few respondents did know about such projects though and they admired the work

that was being done with younger people, such as football programmes to help children

stay out of trouble. Whilst I was there I also witnessed the Arsenal Foundation collecting

money for a local homeless shelter which shows such charitable work taking place. In

Watson’s study about football clubs being involved with the community, in his conclusion

he states, “What must be avoided is a situation whereby communities living around

football grounds are further disadvantaged because their football club either cannot or

46

will not contribute to the quality of their life.” (Watson, N, 2000), Arsenal football club do

contribute to the community and this is commendable but I do not think they do enough

to make the community aware of these actions. If they build up this awareness I believe

that Arsenal FC and the community surrounding it can build up a better bond on which

they meet each other’s needs and build up a better understanding.

5.4 In what ways are out of town football stadiums accessible and what are the

problems related to this?

In some cases football teams will want to move stadium out of the compactness of the

city to out of town areas providing space to build a modern, large capacity stadium. In

order to successfully achieve this the stadium has to be widely accessible for different

modes of transport, such as car, train, buses and even walking, this can prove to be

difficult and expensive.

The research I carried out on the Britannia Stadium helped me understand this matter

better, I learned of the problems that are being faced by supporters to access this

stadium located away from the city. As there is a lack of other studies focusing on the

importance of transport and out of town football stadiums I wanted to see how much of

an issue this was for supporters of Stoke City FC which helped me understand how

crucial it is to have those transport links in place.

The results I found showed that the club had provided a spacious car park directly

outside the stadium and road controls on match days to help ease congestion (Photo

5.2 & 5.3), from what I could see, access to the stadium by car was not a problem. The

47

main problem I did find in my research was the accessibility by train, fans voiced

opinions that the stadium is a hassle to get to via train as the nearest station is far away

near the Staffordshire University campus, this would mean people travelling by train

would have to get an extra mode of transport such as a bus or taxi to get to the stadium.

Building a stadium clear of any major railway lines can not only cause problems for fans

but may also but extra strain on other modes of transport such as road transport,

increased congestion means there will be more people travelling by car or taxi. The club

does provide a shuttle bus but it is a ten minute walk from the station itself. There was

also suggestions from fans that the buses after game often form big queues to use

them, a way to overcome this would be to put on extra buses after the game but this

consequently would increase congestion further.

48

Photo 5.2 Britannia Traffic Management Sign

Photo 5.3 Britannia On-site Car Park

My studies regarding the Britannia showed that stadium does its best out of a situation

which limits the available transport, the current links to the stadium are to a very high

standard considering the location. From what I witnessed the parking was managed very

well with several stewards on site to direct drivers, the shuttle buses are frequent on

match days from the centre of Stoke on Trent (not to be confused with Hanley), although

there is a less frequent bus that visits Hanley Bus Station on its way to the Britannia.

There is also a walking and cycling route that I walked along to access the stadium from

Glebe Street alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal, this is approximately a forty minute

walk.

The Britannia is an example of an out of town football stadium that has utilised all

transport available to a high standard, the absence of a direct railway link to the stadium

is the only fault which is very difficult to overcome. For an out of town stadium to be

successful transport has to be available in different forms, if this is lacking then

attendance figures would likely to fall. Keeping this in mind, when selecting a plot of land

outside of a city, transport links have to be looked at in depth to provide the best

possible accessibility.

5.5 How do football stadiums impact the quality of the local area and residents’ daily

life?

At the start of this project the biggest aim I had was to understand how much of an

impact a stadium can have on the area surrounding it, during my research I managed to

49

investigate the impact of the Emirates Stadium on local residents and the surrounding

environment.

In Bale’s (1990) report concerning football grounds as urban nuisances he found that

congestion and parking was much more of a nuisance than vandalism and hooliganism,

“It has been shown that traffic and car parking is viewed by more people as a nuisance

than the more ‘newsworthy’ hooliganism.” (Bale, J, 1990). I definitely agree with this

statement, from my research I found the majority of the people I had responses from

had no problems at all with hooliganism, whereas some mentioned congestion and

parking as a more predominant problem, this is also backed up by my EQS results.

During my research I found that noise pollution was another big impact caused by the

stadium, almost equal to congestion and parking. On a Likert scale question 83.3% of

respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that noise levels were a problem on match

days, this was supported by my EQS results, as the streets surrounding The Emirates

rated a two or lower in terms of noise pollution on a match day. In a Highbury community

newsletter, Shepherd (2008) describes the use of The Emirates for music concerts and

football matches, she concludes that the decibel levels the noise reaches inside the

stadium are above disruption levels, “The monitoring equipment showed levels of up to

65 dB before the match, during announcements and while a female singer performed,

and during three goals in the second half.” (Shepherd, G, 2008) the views expressed in

her newsletter reflect the results of my questionnaire and EQS data.

The introduction of a new stadium into an area can deliver an influx of tourism into the

area, especially on match days, helping local business thrive, the stadium can also bring

50

with it more services such as shops and pubs/restaurants which announces competition

to local businesses. In The Emirates case there doesn’t seem to be many major chains

of businesses in the area except for a Tesco Express located nearby, this would indicate

that local businesses thrive from being located near The Emirates without major

competition. When asking residents about the stadium bringing tourism and benefits for

the local economy, they were not as strongly convinced. Results from the questionnaire

show that residents weren’t too sure of the boost for the local economy, reacting to the

statement “The Emirates Stadium provides a boost for the local economy” (Figure 4.6)

there was a mixed response, 58.3% of respondents agreed with the statement but there

was a 25% portion of the respondents who were neutral. In regards to tourism 43.5%

cumulatively agreed/strongly agreed with the statement “The stadium brings an influx of

tourism which helps local businesses thrive” (Figure 4.5), which was the exact same

percentage that were neutral, this would suggest that the one large proportion of people

do agree whereas the other large proportion don’t understand what impact the stadium

may have on the local economy. With the introduction of a stadium into a community,

extra jobs can be created by the stadium itself and by businesses trying to get a slice of

the action, the influx of visitors to the local area for the stadium will be likely to also

spend their money on surrounding businesses, such as bars, merchandise,

entertainment and food outlets all contributing to the local economy.

“A constricted inner city club that needs to move might find a brownfield site nearby

and hence contribute to local regeneration. This can be illustrated by the example of the

Arsenal Football Club in London. The new stadium is to be built on an area of disused

51

industrial land not far from the existing ground with the club financing public

improvements to a nearby underground station that is in desperate need of investment.”

(Thornley, A, 2002)

Thornley explains how Arsenal FC moved to The Emirates due to constriction issues

at their old ground and in doing so helped regenerate the local area. This has happened

thanks to the redevelopment of the old ground as well as new apartments being

introduced to the area around the Emirates. “Overall, nearly 1,500 affordable homes

have been provided by Newlon as part of the major regeneration project that supported

Arsenal’s move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium and Queensland Road marks the

end of a 12 year programme of construction.” (Newlon Housing Trust, 2014). The

majority of the new homes are apartments on Queensland Road, which is located in a

close proximity to The Emirates, the introduction of these modern apartments to the area

not only creates new homes but also brings extra life to the area. (Photo 5.4 & 5.5)

52

Photo 5.4 Queensland Road Development and Emirates

Stadium

Photo 5.5 Queensland Road Development

5.6 Conclusion

When moving stadium there are many impacts that occur, affecting fans, local residents,

the environment and the local economy. In my study I have investigated these impacts

with reference to literature that helps indicate what some of these impacts could be. In

studying the Emirates Stadium and the Britannia Stadium as case studies I have

investigated the impacts of these stadiums being introduced to their respected areas.

Stadium relocation can have a noticeable impact on the area it is introduced to and the

local residents nearby, The Emirates displays this by bringing increased congestion and

noise levels, as well as parking difficulties to the area as voiced by the residents.

Beyond these problems the introduction of a stadium can also boost tourism in the area

helping local businesses boom, a regeneration knock on effect can also be introduced,

replicated by the Emirates, the introduction of the new apartments on Queensland Road

and the redevelopment of the Highbury Stadium are great examples, the increased

community that these projects provide will also boost the local economy.

A football club can be very influential to an area, projects and schemes funded by the

club can be implemented to help the community and people in need. Arsenal FC are

excellent examples of this, through The Arsenal Foundation and Arsenal in the

Community the club has managed to help the youth community in the area with

schemes getting them involved with sport, keeping disadvantaged children out of

trouble. Arsenal deliver other projects concerning locals and people in need such as the

homeless population or ill people.

Relocating to a suburb area of a city can bring up a variety of problems, one of the

most important of them being transport issues, looking at the Britannia Stadium I have

53

identified some of the problems that exist. The fundamental problem being the non-

existent train connection to the stadium which comes as a result of being located away

from the urban area. Relocating in an urban area can provide transport links which are

not available in suburban areas similar to that of the Britannia, but these problems can

be overcome by strengthening other transport links.

My study has solidified my understanding of how influential football stadiums can be to

an area, with the expansion of the football industry I can only imagine this impact

increasing. If I were to further my study I would look into local businesses in the areas

that surround stadiums, facilitating interviews and questionnaires to see how the

presence of the stadium influences the businesses around it, there are many impacts

that a stadium can bring to an area as highlighted in my report and there is plenty more

research to be done in this area.

54

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