To conclude Emirates Stadium Week, Arsenal.com spoke to director Ken Friar about the first year at the Club's new home.
What are your impressions of the first year at
Emirates?
"I think it has been quite superb when you think what was
involved. It was a massive project and you hope to get it
completely right but you know you won't. However the queries
that we've had have all been minimal. They were all ones we
could deal with. If people had said we can't see from our seats
or major things that we could not do anything about, then that
would have been very concerning. So, all in all, it has gone very
well."
How prepared were Arsenal at the start of the season? You
were on budget and on time but there are always last-minute things
that can go wrong.
"It is probably like a first night at the theatre. Outwardly
everybody wanted to appear calm but everyone was on edge and the
adrenalin was flowing to make sure everything went well. I feel
everyone did a superb job."
What has surprised you about the new stadium?
"It pleasantly surprised me that things went as well as they
did. We had virtually no complaints on opening day. That was
bearing in mind people were coming to a totally new stadium, people
were using tickets they had not used before, it is circular stadium
and they had to find their way around. We have had problems with
people using lifts when they should not as they are primarily for
disabled access but they are management problems and will be
overcome."
What sort of feedback have you had on your matchday
operation?
"It was relatively minor. There were a few problems with
catering. People ordering food and drinks were kept waiting too
long and with the match starting there was occasionally some
frustration, but that got solved. We also have to remember that the
catering company had a completely new staff too."
What dialogue do you have with fans over the new stadium?
There is a fans' forum isn't there?
"Yes but personally I don't get too involved in that now.
Keith Edelman and David Miles sit on the fans' forum and if
there is a constructive and feasible suggestion then we try to
implement it."
What improvements do you want to make to the matchday
operation next season?
"I don't really think that there is too much that requires
immediate attention. We have certainly improved the decor as we
have gone along and are branding the stadium in the way we hope our
supporters will like."
Do you accept it is still a work in progress?
"There will always be a work in progress. We will never be
satisfied and say 'well we have done it all'. Things
change, systems change and new ideas come along. We have now
dressed the stadium on the inside and we are dressing the
corridors. Eventually we will do more and more as time goes on. But
you can't do that on day one. If we had, then we would have
been a year late. We knew we could do that once we had opened.
"What has really surprised me is the number of other events
taking place in the stadium. The tours have really taken off.
Conference and banqueting is very successful and, on some evenings,
we are serving 1,000 meals. That is very important to the club and
often there is a spin-off. People like what they see and they
sometimes then come to a match or they book a conference for later
in the year. It is like going to a nice restaurant, you'll
recommend it."
The transport problems have featured widely. What lessons
have you learnt this year?
"We always realised there could be problem because we have
increased our capacity from 38,000 to 60,000. We are still the
best-served club in the country in terms of public transport. We
have 12 per cent of the public now coming via car. The other 88 per
cent are coming via public transport in the main. We try to get
people in early. We stagger it so they don't all arrive at one
time. We have a "happy hour" after the game to try to
keep people in. Even if we retain only 5,000 or 10,000 people, that
is enough to ease the problem. Midweek matches are different,
because people arrive later and want to leave straight away to get
home. But we are doing everything we can and the police are doing a
great job. Where we have had problems this year is when the
Piccadilly and Victoria lines broke down, on some occasions
simultaneously. But that is a problem beyond us."
Arsenal averaged over 60,000 in the Premiership. Do you
think you will sustain that for next season?
"I think we will. The season tickets renewal rates are
enormous. They are extremely good. But everything about this
business is about team results. We have a very young team. If you
can blend the Thierry Henrys with the youth of Fabregas and
Denilson etc then we will do really well. But if we are 18th in the
League then who can say? But at the moment we are doing really
well, every match is a sell-out and we need to do our best to keep
that going."
Finally Mr Friar, what mark out of 10 would you give for
this season at Emirates?
"I suppose I'd give us eight out of 10. Whatever you do
there is room for improvement. Once you get to the stage where you
think you have learnt it all then you'll soon realise you have
not."
