Arsenal and Emirates Stadium Guide

Transport

It is not recommended to drive to the ground as there is no parking around the Emirates stadium on match days and the surrounding roads are closed to traffic from two hours before the match up until an hour after the match. If you are going to drive you may want to park on the edge of London and complete your journey by public transport. The ground itself is served by three tube stations: Highbury and Islington (Victoria Line), Arsenal (Piccadilly Line) and Finsbury Park (Victoria and Piccadilly lines), all within walking distance of the ground. Nearby Holloway Road station is closed on match days as it does not have an escalator.

Parking

No parking near the stadium on match days due to traffic restrictions (see above), also the surrounding areas are residential parking only and illegally parked vehicles may be clamped or towed away.

Arsenal Hotels

Not recommended to stay near the ground, as there is very little to do. Islington's trendy Upper Street is a far more suitable place to stay as it is packed with bars and restaurants and has many hotels nearby including the Hilton on Upper Street and Jury's Inn on Pentonville Road.

Hotels in Central London

The Emirates stadium is short tube journey from Central London and the West End, which can be easily reached on either the Victoria or Piccadilly lines after the game. Fans who wish to stay more centrally have many options. London's West End is a nightlife mecca and offers a wide range of accommodation from the glamorous Ritz hotel on Piccadilly through to the more humble Classic hotel near Hyde Park. London's South Bank offers galleries and riverside accommodation; or choose the Paddington area where many hotels are available reasonable rates.

London Hotels with parking

Most Central London hotels with parking facilities will charge additionally, the Hilton Islington charges £6 for first 2 hours and £3 for every hour after that the weekend and weekday overnight rate is £1.10 per hour. There are many hotels that offer free parking facilities in London's suburbs, where parking is not as restricted, the Costello Palace Hotel on Seven Sisters Road has free parking available for guests and is near the Emirates Stadium and only a 20 minute journey into Central London by tube.

Food

There are many fast food facilities around the stadium with a variety of options, ranging from your typical burger van to a Caribbean food stall. Inside Emirates stadium the food is pricey but does cover a wide range of products, including pizza slices, various pies, nachos and your usual hot dogs and burgers, although it is advised to eat outside the stadium due to the high prices.

Drink

There are also many bars around the stadium with The Gunners Pub being the main home supporters pub, it holds space for 160 in its beer garden and has 60 pumps of beer so there's little wait for a pint, there is also a mass of memorabilia to look at as well as special events on matchdays (ie: bands before the game), definately the place to drink for die hard gooners.
The Tollington Arms is also a great place for a pre match drink and has more of a gastro pub vibe than the Gunners Pub, this can be found on Hornsey Road and is right next to the Emirates Stadium in a perfect location (home fans only though).
The Drayton Arms next to Drayton Park Station is the traditional away supporter's pub and is a short walk from the ground, this pub usually allows outside drinking, but for some big games the police stop this to avoid crowd trouble.
It is also possible to drink inside the stadium where it is only £2.50 for a pint of lager before and after the match (£3.20 at half time). Tea and coffee will cost you £1.70 and a soft drink £2.00. Please note that alcohol is not served in the stadium on European games.

Programmes and Fanzines

Official match programmes are £3. The Gooner fanzine is £2 and Up The Arse fanzine is £1.

Eating/Drinking

There are literally hundreds of places to eat and drink around London's West End. However if you wish to wine and dine closer to the ground then Upper Street is only a short walk from The Emirates Stadium (Upper Street runs from Highbury and Islington station through to the Angel Islington). Here you will find many bars and restaurants ideal for a night out (try Living Rooms by Islington Green for a nice chilled evening out).

Entertainment

Again the West End is packed with entertainment including theatres, bars, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs. Madame Tussauds and the London Eye are perennial London tourist attractions as are Big Ben, Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament.

If Central London is not your scene, Walthamstow Dog Track is not far from Emirates Stadium and can be easily reached by public transport.

After spending 93 years at Highbury, Arsenal decided that they had finally outgrown their old home and decided to build a new ground. The Emirates Stadium project was put into action and in 2006 Arsenal moved home forever to their new 60,000 all seated stadium (exact capacity is 60,432). The Emirates stadium cost a total of £357 million to build, unlike Wembley it was both under budget and on time. On August 19 2006, Arsenal played their first competitive game at Emirates Stadium and drew 1-1 with Aston Villa in front of a packed crowd and remained unbeaten at home until losing to West Ham United on April 7 2007 which is their only home defeat to date (as of September 24 2007). The record attendance at Emirates Stadium is currently 60,132 for Arsenal v Reading on March 3 2007 and their biggest victory is 7-0 against Slavia Prague on October 23 2007

Although it is said that the capacity of the Emirates Stadium is 60,000 the exact figure is actually 60,432.

There are 150 Executive Boxes at the Emirates Stadium compared to 48 at Highbury. These are 10, 12 and 15 seat boxes and start from £65,000 a season

The Club Level seating area has 7,139 seats, these are premium seats and are only sold on a seasonal basis, benefits include exclusive access to a range of first-class restaurants and bars coupled with complimentary half-time drinks.

The height of the stadium is 42 meters from pitch level to the top of the roof.

Over 900 WCs are at the stadium, together with 370 metres of urinals and 113 Disabled toilets.

There are 41 TV camera positions throughout the stadium, as well as 215 seats for the media.

The stadium name comes from a sponsorship deal with Emirates which involves the stadium being named after its sponsor for fifteen years at a cost of £100 million.

Contact Details

The official address for Arsenal Football Club is:

Highbury House
75 Drayton Park
London
N5 1BU

The phone number for the front desk at the Emirates Stadium is 020 7704 4000. The contact number for the Arsenal Box Office is 020 7704 4040.

The clubs website is www.arsenal.com

Ticket Prices

These can vary depending on the opposition. The prices are catergorised into A and B matches and are priced accordingly.

Category A fixtures, £46-£94 (Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United,
Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United)

Category B fixtures, £32-£66 (Remaining Premiership fixtures)

FA Cup, Champions League and Carling Cup matches are graded upon the opposition at the time.

There is capacity for 250 wheelchair users at Emirates Stadium. These positions are provided at all public and corporate levels throughout the building.
Although there is severe parking restrictions around the Emirates Stadium it is okay for blue badge users to park as long as they have entered the restricted areas more than two hours before the match.
For more information on disabled facilities at Emirates Stadium AWADS is a great website with plenty of information.