While the same names remain at the top of their respective leagues, they are always evolving with the ever-growing pressures of looking pristine and, thus, achieving the most. Evident, and rather expensive, changes to a club’s persona can often consist of shutting up shop and moving to another stadium.
Of all 20 current Premier League sides, a grand total of eight of them have changed stomping grounds since the turn of the millennium, perhaps suggesting the need to provide a state-of-the-art experience for match-going fans continues to intensify.
Related Presenter Ranks Top 10 Stadiums in English Football After Visiting All 92 Adrian Durham’s own ranking demands curiosity, as only four Premier League grounds made the cut.
The likes of Highbury and White Hart Lane have both been replaced and demolished in recent years – but what would they look like nowadays? Using AI, with the help of the folks over at BonusCodeBets, let’s take a look at what some of the most iconic stadiums in the UK would look like nowadays – if they were still around, of course.
Highbury, Arsenal
Demolished in May 2006
Before the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium, which is now used by both the men’s and women’s teams, Arsenal fans made the trip to the iconic Highbury. Staying at the latter was not on the agenda, however, as the East Stand is a Grade II-listed building and houses would’ve needed to be knocked down in order to redevelop it.
Between 1913 and 2006, Highbury was the true statement of Arsenal incremental changes over the years epitomising the club’s ever-changing style. Now converted into north London flats, AI’s version of the iconic ground is smart and clean, but it also has a traditional feel to it – much like Arsenal football club as a whole.
Highbury – Fact File Opened 1913 Closed 2016 Final capacity 38,500 Highest attendance 73,295, a 0-0 draw with Sunderland in 1935
White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur
Demolished between June and August 2017
Forget the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a second, a large part of the club’s fanbase will remember tipping up to White Hart Lane for sections of their lives. The north Londoners enjoyed the old-school nature of the 36,240-seater for 118 years, but it was demolished in 2017 in order to make way for a trailblazing stadium.
Having outgrown the old stadium down the road, they moved to – after a two-year stay at Wembley – moved to a newer, fresh-looking stomping ground. AI has predicted that White Hart Lane would have lost its classic touch, feeding into the modern era of football stadia anyway.
White Hart Lane – Fact File Opened 1899 Closed 2017 Final capacity 36,240 Highest attendance 75,038, a 1-1 draw with Sunderland in 1935
Maine Road, Manchester City
Demolished between 2003 and 2004
Pre-Premier League dominance, Manchester City plied their trade at Maine Road. But, once relegated in 1996, they moved to the City of Manchester Stadium, which was later renamed to the Eithad Stadium. The club were reluctant to move, but any plans for redevelopment were abandoned after falling down the English football pyramid.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Upon opening in 1923, Maine Road was the second-largest stadium (85,000) in England – behind Wembley.
It took just a year for Maine Road to be demolished and subsequently made into a housing estate and school – but many were under the belief that staying put made more sense. If they had, the computer-generated image shows they could have remained within the realms of a box-like stadium, increasing the height of their three stands to match that of the main Kippax terrace.
Maine Road – Fact File Opened 1923 Closed 2003 Final capacity 35,150 Highest attendance 84,569, a 1-0 win over Stoke City in 1934
Boleyn Ground, West Ham United
Demolished in March 2017
One of the Premier League’s most storied and fondly remembered football grounds, West Ham United’s departure from the Boleyn Ground was one filled with sorrow and potential regret. Moving to a modern-looking London Stadium – one that helped to host the Olympics in 2012 – many fans of the east London-based club complained that it wasn’t “fit for football”.
Doubling their capacity in the process, AI believes that West Ham’s old stomping ground would’ve remained pretty much the same – in its shape and its culture. The raucous ‘Chicken Run Stand’, located on the east side of the 35,016-seater ground, would have kept its originality – an aspect that fans now dream of.
Boleyn Ground – Fact File Opened 1904 Closed 2016 Final capacity 35,016 Highest attendance 42,322, a 2-2 draw with Tottenham in 1970
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Griffin Park, Brentford
Demolished between 2021 and 2023
Before capital club Brentford could class themselves a regular Premier League outfit, Griffin Park was their stomping ground. Albeit a rather modest affair, it was called home by the west Londoners between 1904 and 2020, before they moved to the less-homely Gtech Community Stadium, which can hold a maximum of 17,250 match-goers, just four years ago.
As a result, their final home game – a Championship play-off semi-final, was played behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Interestingly, the AI-generated image of Griffin Park dwarfs that of their current home, with it seeing vast improvements from its days in the English second division.
Griffin Park – Fact File Opened 1904 Closed 2020 Final capacity 12,763 Highest attendance 38,678, a 2-0 loss to Leicester in 1949
Wembley, England
Demolished between 2002 and 2003
Home of the much-maligned England national team, The Old Wembley was as traditional as stadiums came. The well-documented twin towers were swapped for the arch of The New Wembley in 2000 and the former was demolished just three years later after it shut its turnstiles for the very last time.
A sad day for football fans as it represented a changing of the guard, AI has predicted that its iconic appearance – which included the aforementioned twin towers – would have been long gone anyway. Now playing their games at The New Wembley – widely considered to be one of the best stadiums in world football – the stadium in London remains the Home of Football.
Wembley – Fact File Opened 1923 Closed 2003 Final capacity 76,000 Highest attendance 126,047, Bolton beat West Ham 2-0 in the 1923 FA Cup final
Ninian Park, Cardiff City
Demolished in October 2009
Demolished in 2009 to make way for a housing development, Cardiff City’s former ground, Roker Park, was a cornerstone of Welsh football. With the solitary wooden stand to show for, it was opened in September 1910 and homed the Swans for almost a century after it closed its door for the very last time in 2009.
Its tiring stands and perceived lack of stability, according to AI-generated images, would’ve been completely transformed into a modern-looking arena – one fit for a team the size of Cardiff. Instead, they now ply their trade at the Cardiff City Stadium – located in the epicentre of the nation’s capital.
Ninian Park – Fact File Opened 1910 Closed 2009 Final capacity 21,508 Highest attendance 62,634, a 1-1 draw between Wales and England in 1959
Roker Park, Sunderland
Demolished between 1997 and 1998
The successor of a site on Newcastle Road that Sunderland used in the late 19th century, Roker Park became the loving home of the Wearside-based outfit in 1898 and served them until three years shy of the turn of the millennium, overseeing all manner of fixtures in that period.
Construction of the Stadium of Light, just a few hundred yards from Roker Park, started in 1996 and the latter was then demolished and replaced by housing estates as the Black Cats settled in at the former. Had they opted against the move, the 22,500-seater stadium’s unfit-for-purpose nature would have been eradicated. According to AI, it would’ve grown in size and maturity.
Roker Park – Fact File Opened 1898 Closed 1997 Final capacity 22,500 Highest attendance 75,118, a 1-0 win over Derby County in 1993
All stadium information per The Stadium Guide – correct as of 13/10/24