This Is Deep Play

In this episode we are joined by Mark Panton, who is researching the relationship between big football club's stadium redevelopments and the local communities affected by them. We discuss Tottenham Hotspur's ongoing attempts to build a bigger stadium amidst local protests about housing and facilities, how their plans contrast with Arsenal's earlier development (itself controversial), Liverpool's 'tinning up' of local homes & the issue of 'state aid' in East Manchester and beyond. More deeply, we consider how positive community relations can be a source of pride for a football club beyond the myopic obsession with success on the pitch. Finally, we turn to the flipside of stadia redevelopment - where smaller clubs' grounds are at risk from developers, looking at the example of Dulwich Hamlet's Champion Hill and a supporters' attempt to have it listed as an Asset of Community Value.