Groundtastic GT79 | Página 4

LONDON CALLING Outside the ground an area called Armoury Square was populated by statues of former Arsenal greats, and going back even further in Arsenal's history, a pair of cannons were brought over from Woolwich Arsenal. With West Ham due to move into a reconfigured Olympic Stadium in 2016, one feels something similar will need to be done to ensure West Ham fans feel at home. Indeed, some form of 'Hammerisation' is already on the cards it seems, for it has been announced that just as at the Boleyn Ground, the two ends at the Olympic Stadium will be named in honour of Sir Trevor Brooking and Bobby Moore. Left: The sympathetic conversion of Highbury, with the famous marble hall now acting as an entrance to the flats Below: The ‘Arsenalisation’ of the Emirates Stadium For the perfect marriage of football and heritage, one must visit Fulham's Craven Cottage, perched on the northern banks of the River Thames. The Archibald Leitch designed Stevenage Road Stand and the adjoining pavilion both date from 1905, and are the only Grade II listed structures in senior professional football in England, but had it not been for the intervention of an Egyptian, Mohamed Al Fayed, these most English of institutions might easily have been lost. Instead, in 2004 a beautifully restored and tastefully upgraded Craven Cottage was reopened, allaying the fears of many Fulham fans and well-wishers, who since the 1970s had been fearful for the ground's future due to its prime location. The Stevenage Road Stand (now the Johnny Haynes Stand), was renovated inside and out, while in 2008 the former Fulham legend himself was commemorated in statue form. 4 Groundtastic - The Football Grounds Magazine