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Club offers a dozen VIP tickets for Emirates Cup
Football tournament sets police a ‘Krypton Factor’ challenge
ARSENAL has haggled down the number of free tickets for residents to next week’s Emirates Cup tournament from 800 – to just 12.
Despite extensive representations from Town Hall officers, their pleas were argued down by the football club’s officials.
The Emirates Cup is billed as a dazzling European football showcase but the policeman in charge of security said he faced a “Krypton Factor-style challenge” to organise everything in time.
The four-match event sees Arsenal play Inter Milan on Saturday followed by Paris St-Germain against Valencia. On Sunday, the Gunners clash with Ajax and then Ajax battle Atletico Madrid.
More than 60,000 people will descend each day on the Ashburton Grove area – at a time when residents thought no games would be played. But only 12 residents per game, albeit in VIP boxes, will be getting in for free.
The “token gesture” was branded “insulting” by one resident, while the tournament will mean a number of backstreets going into “lockdown” while the games are on.
One-day tickets allowing access to both matches cost between £35 and £50. With only days to go, the council, led by traffic officer Neil Huddart, is battling to secure more tickets. Winners were chosen through a competition in a residents’ leaflet.
Councillors are fuming about the short notice given to residents.
The Emirates Cup is also being held on the day of a busy confirmation at St Thomas Church, a few hundred yards from the stadium, where 40 special parking permits have had to be issued for parishioners.
Terry Stacy, deputy council leader and Highbury East councillor, told Tuesday night’s East Area Committee: “I will express my concerns publicly about the Emirates Cup. The notice that the council received has been a bad joke and I understand the frustration some residents are feeling.”
Chief Inspector Richard Woolford, who oversees matchday security, said police faced a “Krypton Factor-style challenge” as they race to make arrangements but was upbeat about meeting the deadline.
He told the committee: “I’ve got my own opinions about the Emirates Cup, which I can’t say in an open environment. We would be negligent if we didn’t close the roads. Residents will be told the worse case scenario with the caveat that we will do the best we can.”
Andrew Myer, 53, from Horsell Road, said: “Only six pairs of tickets is insulting. It is a very small token gesture. The stadium is part of our neighbourhood now so to see something there would be exciting.”
Drayton Park resident Ann Freeman, a retired interior designer, said: “It shows total contempt. Arsenal are just in it for the money and ride roughshod over everybody.”
Highbury West Green councillor Katie Dawson said: “This would have been a good opportunity for the club to build bridges and if we ever had any doubt that Arsenal treated us with contempt, we don’t now.”
An Arsenal spokesman said the club, council and the police were involved in a lengthy consultation regarding the operational issues many weeks before the tournament dates were announced.
“The dates of the Emirates Cup have been in the public domain for a number of weeks and the club has also distributed a leaflet to local residents, communicating the road closures procedure for the weekend, together with an overview of forthcoming fixtures at Emirates Stadium, in order to minimise any potential inconvenience”, he said.
“We have also liaised closely with Islington Council with regards to Sunday worship on the weekend of the Emirates Cup. Islington Council will be working closely with St. Thomas’ and all other churches in the local area in order to manage their requirements on Sunday July 29. We are offering a significant number of tickets to local community groups for the Emirates Cup and the club is also offering six pairs of VIP tickets as competition prizes which was run in our local residents’ leaflet.” |
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