Once an integral part of the towns and cities they called home, dozens of the nation’s Football League grounds have disappeared over the past 30 or so years. All took with them a wealth of memories for generations of supporters. But what happened next? The Athletic has travelled around the country to find out, taking in an array of housing estates, retail parks and even the odd hospital along the way in part one and part two of our series.
The latest update features a selection of clubs who moved around the turn of the Millennium, starting with a stadium where the Premier League trophy was raised in celebration just 20 years ago. Any railway passenger glancing out of the window on the east-coast line on final approach into London King’s Cross Station could be forgiven for doing a double take. There, just a few hundred yards in the distance, sits Highbury , the one-time home of Arsenal , which the club left for a new life at the nearby Emirates Stadium in 2006.
The East and West Stands still glint in the summer sunshine on this day, leaving football fans of a certain age wondering if the last 18 years have been a dream. Advertisement A few seconds later, such a notion is dismissed as the Emirates now hoves into view, towering over the railway line. Arsenal’s current home makes for an awe-inspiring sight when so close up, even if it also begs the question as to why the ground it replaced is still standing.
The simple answer is: it isn’t. Or, at least, not in a form supp.