Today’s company visit was with Arsenal at their new stadium, the Emirates Stadium, which they moved to in 2006 as they had outgrown their old one at Highbury. Highbury has now been redeveloped with housing built around the original pitch. The apartments were marketed to members who wanted to have the same view from the seat they held on their season’s ticket. The new stadium also includes housing in the development of what was previously a waste depot, including affordable housing for London’s “key personnel” – firemen, nurses etc who can no longer afford London’s housing market. The tour started in the Diamond Club, Arsenal’s top tier of membership – the annual fee is 25,000 pounds and members must commit to a minimum 35 year contract to demonstrate their allegiance. We were also shown through the corporate suites, the dressing rooms, the press rooms and the tunnel onto the pitch. We finished in the largest of several retail stores at the ground, where the group enthusiastically contributed to Arsenal’s revenue!
We returned to London and I headed into the city to catch up with a couple of EY friends for a lovely night at the Horniman’s at Hay pub on the Thames near the Tower Bridge. I had the address of the EY Global building, Beckett House, and a scratch map I had copied from the website, but as it was already pitch dark at 5pm, I still wasn’t sure it was the right building until I was right outside – there was only a small ‘Ernst & Young’ sign at ground level, and no neon illumination at all, which made me realise that there is really not much neon in London at all, in stark comparison to Hong Kong. It was really lovely to see Margie & Anna, two former level 26 buddies, and it was a great night.
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