Arsenal have looked at the way Real Madrid redeveloped the Bernabeu as they explore the possibility of expanding Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have been at Emirates Stadium since 2006 and want to make upgrades to their north London home.
Renovations have taken place in recent years, including the installation of new artwork on the stadium’s exterior, and Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke revealed during an interview with ESPN last summer that “internal conversations” were taking place about further work being done.
Standard Sport understands that such talks are at an exploratory stage, with Arsenal assessing what is feasible when it comes to expanding or upgrading the Emirates.
Arsenal have taken note of what other clubs have done, including Real Madrid’s redevelopment of the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid announced in 2019 they were refurbishing their stadium and club president Florentino Perez vowed to create “the best stadium in the world”.
The futuristic redevelopment was completed last year and fulfils the club’s aim of being “the great digital stadium of the future”.
Club staff from Arsenal were coincidentally in Madrid earlier this season at an event, which allowed them the opportunity to see the stadium and learn more about it.
Arsenal will visit the Bernabeu next month for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Kroenke explained to ESPN last summer that Emirates Stadium was “not an easy renovation” and all discussions around expansion or redevelopment remain at an early stage.
Arsenal have, though, been upgrading parts of the ground.
Populous, the firm that designed Emirates Stadium, have been appointed to improve the catering potential and upgrade some of the stadium kitchen facilities.
Arsenal have upgraded their beer supply, with the stadium’s venue director Tom McCann informing supporters of plans at a fans’ forum meeting last year, and has proved to be a great success.
“The club is in the middle of a project spending about £2million upgrading our beer supply,” minutes from the meeting state in January 2024.
“Everything from investing in the pythons, in the sellers, in the technology, in the number of kiosks.”
McCann also confirmed how Emirates Stadium would be modernised further by improving phone signal at the ground. The 5G is on track for delivery at the start of next season.
“I can confirm that full stadium Wi-Fi is not currently on the roadmap,” minutes from the meeting state.
“Our primary connectivity strategy for the stadium and our supporters is via 5G. Our new DAS (Digital Distributed Antenna system) solution to deliver 5G is already in-delivery and the intention is that this will be in place for the start of next season.
“DAS is like having many small antennas throughout a building that work together to improve wireless signal strength and coverage.”
