Know_The_Ledge was one of 20,000 lucky participants to explore Arsenal’s new stadium before the official opening this weekend and did not come away disappointed.
Well, I’ve just got back from Members’ Day and I have to say that the new stadium is an amazing sight. Arsenal fans are not going to be disappointed by Ashburton Grove. It is truly enormous and yet beautiful and majestic and really does look fantastic even when empty, once it’s full of supporters it’ll be an awesome spectacle.
The day consisted of a 90 minute training session for all the players who were not part of the World Cup, with the exception of Adebayor, Eboue, Toure and new signing Rosicky who were participating in fitness training.
After the training session, Wenger was interviewed and said that there might be 1 or 2 more new signings before the transfer window ends, perhaps if Cashley moves across London for 16m then we can use some of that money to bring in a new CB and CM which we desperately need.
Overall, I think the new stadium spells out a great new future for the club; hopefully we can match the style and grace of the new stadium by bringing some silverware to our new home.
Bring on Villa…..
A few other thoughts:
The seats: Fantastic. They are so comfortable. When the website said they were all padded I just thought that meant a bit of token cushioning but they are really comfortable. What’s particularly notable though is the height of the back of the seat and the leg room at the front, both of which also make it a far more comfortable experience. It’s also much easier when moving along rows to get to and from your seat.
The food/drink: Service was quick and efficient, impressive considering the staffs are using the facilities for the first time. Ok, not as many people as there will be on a match day but you couldn’t have asked for a better start. The chicken balti pies are magnificent, I highly recommend them.
Entry: This seemed to work fine. The little scanner thing works on cards kept in the season ticket wallet.
Screens: Not as big as at Highbury, but much clearer and better definition picture.
Other stadium things: On a hot day like today I half expected to be baking up in the top tier but since the back of the roof is open all the way around the air circulated well and there was a nice breeze keeping everyone cool. The acoustics seemed very impressive since there were only a few thousand people there. The singing seemed to be very loud, especially considering the size of the stadium. With a full 60,000 it may well be deafening (it would make a change for the Library!).
The day consisted of a 90 minute training session for all the players who were not part of the World Cup, with the exception of Adebayor, Eboue, Toure and new signing Rosicky who were participating in fitness training.
After the training session, Wenger was interviewed and said that there might be 1 or 2 more new signings before the transfer window ends, perhaps if Cashley moves across London for 16m then we can use some of that money to bring in a new CB and CM which we desperately need.
Overall, I think the new stadium spells out a great new future for the club; hopefully we can match the style and grace of the new stadium by bringing some silverware to our new home.
Bring on Villa…..
A few other thoughts:
The seats: Fantastic. They are so comfortable. When the website said they were all padded I just thought that meant a bit of token cushioning but they are really comfortable. What’s particularly notable though is the height of the back of the seat and the leg room at the front, both of which also make it a far more comfortable experience. It’s also much easier when moving along rows to get to and from your seat.
The food/drink: Service was quick and efficient, impressive considering the staffs are using the facilities for the first time. Ok, not as many people as there will be on a match day but you couldn’t have asked for a better start. The chicken balti pies are magnificent, I highly recommend them.
Entry: This seemed to work fine. The little scanner thing works on cards kept in the season ticket wallet.
Screens: Not as big as at Highbury, but much clearer and better definition picture.
Other stadium things: On a hot day like today I half expected to be baking up in the top tier but since the back of the roof is open all the way around the air circulated well and there was a nice breeze keeping everyone cool. The acoustics seemed very impressive since there were only a few thousand people there. The singing seemed to be very loud, especially considering the size of the stadium. With a full 60,000 it may well be deafening (it would make a change for the Library!).
