Gunners to auction contents of Highbury

Arsenal will auction off the contents of Highbury for charity when the club moves to Emirates Stadium next summer.

More than 5,000 lots could eventually be included in the sale, which will be conducted by auctioneers Bache Treharne and is scheduled to take place over a three-day period next summer.

Arsenal supporters and collectors of football memorabilia from around the world will have the opportunity to purchase bespoke items from the famous old stadium by either visiting the auction in person, or by logging on to a live webcast of the event.

As the East and West Stands are listed by English Heritage, some items will be retained at Highbury – such as its famous marble halls – and some recreated in Emirates Stadium, a purpose-built 60,000-seater venue which is set to open in time for the start of next season.

Although the specific lots have not yet been confirmed, the ‘Highbury Auction’ is expected to contain several thousand items from the ground, which has been the home of the Gunners’ since 1913.

The club have created a special website – www.highburyauction.com – which will also soon be hosting an on-line auction of 35 limited-edition ‘Highbury Heritage’ box sets, to include a uniquely numbered 2005-2006 commemorative home shirt, a letter from Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood and a book about the history of the Gunners’ kit.

Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman said: “The ‘Highbury Auction’ promises to be a fantastic event next summer which will enable many supporters to own a piece of our grand old stadium as a keepsake.

“The redevelopment of Highbury into residential apartments will commence shortly after we move to Emirates Stadium next August, but we felt it appropriate to give people the opportunity to buy certain historic elements of the stadium before the start of demolition.

“We expect demand to be huge for the auction and we strongly urge people interested in attending the event and other auction activities throughout the course of the year to visit www.highburyauction.com and register their details.”

Edelman added: “The auction will contain literally thousands of items and we will be donating a substantial amount of the proceeds to charities close to the club, including our charity of the season – The David Rocastle Trust.”

Senior partner of Bache Treharne, Peter Bache commented: “This auction will create huge worldwide interest not only from Arsenal supporters, but football memorabilia collectors and various areas of industry, who will benefit from the sale of particular working parts of the stadium.

“The opportunity to acquire a part of this fantastic old stadium is something which will definitely appeal to so many people and we are very excited about working on this project.”