IN-PERSON: Prague – Section A

Abstract

In 2006 Arsenal Football Club left Highbury stadium—their home since 1913—and moved the new Emirates stadium less than 500 metres away. Conforming to a contemporary ‘concrete bowl’ approach to stadium design, Arsenal’s new home lacked the architectural distinction of Highbury. Perhaps more importantly, it was also lacking the memories of past glories experienced by generations of fans based that gave Highbury the status of ‘hallowed turf’. Thus, the Emirates had yet to acquire the kind of intangible heritage that creates an emotional attachment between fans and their team. To overcome this, the club embarked on an ‘Arsenalisation’ project to embed a sense of history and heritage into the new stadium through a series of graphic interventions designed to imbue it with a ‘sense of place’. Statues, murals, banners, photographic images, timelines, and other commemorative displays adorn the new stadium, both inside and out, acting as ‘graphic heritage’ that connects both Arsenal fans and football tourists with a sense of the club’s place in football history. This paper discusses the differing social and cultural roles these different design interventions play in placemaking and place attachment for the club and those attending matches or visiting the new stadium. What multiple roles does graphic heritage play in ritualistic matchday behaviour; the initiation of new supporters; the transfer of meaning beyond the immediate urban environment (both physical and virtual); and how is language used to recreate previous experiences of place?