Walk down Avenell Road in North London today and the old Art Deco facade still looks like a football stadium — right up until you notice the curtains in the windows. Highbury, Arsenal’s home for 93 years, was never bulldozed. It was converted, piece by piece, into a private housing estate that still carries the ground’s DNA in its brickwork, its marble halls, and even its old players’ tunnel.
This guide covers exactly what happened to Highbury after Arsenal left in 2006: the demolition, what was saved, how the redevelopment unfolded, and what the site looks like — and who lives there — today.
Quick Answer
Highbury stadium was not demolished. After Arsenal played their last match there on 7 May 2006, the ground was redeveloped between 2006 and 2009 into a private residential complex called Highbury Square. The North Bank and Clock End stands were torn down, but the Grade II listed Art Deco East Stand and the West Stand facade were kept and rebuilt into around 711 flats, with the old pitch turned into a communal garden.
What Happened to Highbury After Arsenal Left
Arsenal’s move to Emirates Stadium for the 2006–07 season left Highbury without a tenant, but the club didn’t sell the site to be cleared for something unrelated — it developed the ground itself. Demolition began soon after the final match, starting with the North Bank and Clock End, the two stands with no heritage protection. Both came down within the redevelopment’s first phase.
The East and West Stands were treated differently. Their 1930s Art Deco facades — the marble entrance halls, the curved frontage, the Arsenal crest and clock — were retained as the shell for new apartment blocks built inside and behind them. Rather than gutting the stadium and starting again, the architects (Allies and Morrison) inserted new floors and duplex flats into the old stand structure, using the stadium’s original four-metre structural grid to plan the new interiors — a deliberate echo of the Georgian London squares the development was designed to resemble.
Construction ran from 2006 into 2009, and the finished scheme — officially opened in 2009 with Arsène Wenger cutting the ribbon — comprised around 711 homes across a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom flats and penthouses. The old pitch, once trodden by decades of Arsenal legends, became a large shared garden at the centre of the development, and the players’ tunnel was preserved as a walkway leading out to it.
A Stadium Steeped in History
Highbury opened on 6 September 1913 on land leased from St John’s College of Divinity, with a 2–1 win over Leicester Fosse as its first competitive match. The ground was substantially rebuilt in the 1930s under architects Claude Ferrier and William Binnie, whose Art Deco East and West Stands turned it into one of the most architecturally distinctive venues in English football.
The all-time attendance record — 73,295 — was set on 9 March 1935, when Arsenal drew 0–0 with Sunderland; the crowd was so large that gates were locked an hour before kick-off. That figure was never beaten. Following the Taylor Report’s recommendations in the early 1990s, Highbury was converted to an all-seater stadium, reducing capacity to a final figure of 38,419. Despite the smaller crowds, Highbury kept its reputation as one of the toughest away days in the country — a genuine fortress for Arsenal right up until the final whistle in 2006.
What’s Preserved — and What’s Gone
Not every part of Highbury survived. The North Bank and Clock End, both rebuilt in the 20th century without the same architectural pedigree as the East and West Stands, were completely demolished and replaced with new-build apartment blocks that match the development’s style but aren’t original stadium fabric.
The East Stand fared best: it’s nationally Grade II listed by Historic England (list entry 1119692), meaning its 1936 facade, marble entrance hall and staircases are protected by law. The West Stand is only locally listed rather than nationally protected, but its facade was preserved anyway to keep the development’s symmetry and character intact. Inside the scheme, look for a bust of former manager Herbert Chapman and other small memorials to the stadium’s football history, tucked into the communal areas.
Visiting Highbury Today
Highbury Square is private housing, not a museum or a tourist attraction — there are no stadium tours and the interior isn’t open to the public. What you can do is walk along Avenell Road (nearest station: Arsenal, on the Piccadilly line) and see the East Stand’s Art Deco frontage exactly as matchgoing fans would have seen it decades ago, plus a small plaque marking the site’s football history. Fans wanting an actual stadium tour experience should head to Arsenal’s current home instead.
Highbury Stadium FAQs
What happened to Highbury Stadium after Arsenal moved out?
It was redeveloped, not demolished. Between 2006 and 2009, Highbury was converted into Highbury Square, a residential complex of around 711 flats. The North Bank and Clock End were torn down, the Grade II listed East Stand and the West Stand facades were rebuilt into apartments, and the old pitch became a communal garden.
When did Arsenal leave Highbury?
Arsenal played their final match at Highbury on 7 May 2006 — a 4–2 win over Wigan Athletic — before moving to the new Emirates Stadium for the 2006–07 season.
Is Highbury Stadium still standing?
Parts of it are. The East and West Stand facades still stand and now form the exterior of residential apartment blocks. The North Bank and Clock End stands are gone, replaced by new-build housing as part of the same development.
How many homes are at Highbury Square?
The finished development comprises around 711 apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom flats and penthouses, built within and around the old stadium’s retained stands.
What was the record attendance at Highbury?
The highest recorded attendance was 73,295, set on 9 March 1935 for a First Division match between Arsenal and Sunderland, which finished 0–0.
Can you visit Highbury today?
You can walk past and view the listed East Stand facade on Avenell Road, but Highbury Square is private housing with no public stadium tours or interior access.
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