EIGHT of the current 20 Premier League clubs have moved into new stadiums this century.
Iconic grounds like Highbury and White Hart Lane have been knocked down and replaced by modern new arenas.
But what if some clubs decided to renovate their spiritual homes instead of replace?
SunSport, with the help of BonusCodeBets, have used AI to see what those classic stadiums could look like if they had not been demolished.
Highbury – Arsenal
Arsenal left Highbury in 2006 and moved to the 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners were unable to stay and modernise the old venue because the East Stand is a Grade II listed building and redevelopments would have seen houses knocked down.
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Highbury has now been converted into flats – but AI reckons its old school look could have a modern twist if the club remained there.
The previous home of the club was demolished a year later and is now a housing estate and a school.
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Some fans wished they had increased the capacity of the 35,000-seater stadium.
But AI thinks if they had, City would have kept the square shape and made the other stands as high the main Kippax Stand.
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Boleyn Ground – West Ham
West Ham‘s made an emotional departure from Upton Park to London Stadium in 2016.
Some supporters criticise the new ground as “not fit for football” due to it still being able to host athletics events.
But the club doubled their capacity and got a shiny new home on the cheap as the London Legacy Development Corporation needed a tenant after the Olympics.
If they had not bulldozed the Boleyn, the Hammers’ ground would have kept an old school shape and AI thinks the intimidating Chicken Run Stand would have stayed much the same.
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Griffin Park – Brentford
The stadium was home to Brentford from 1904 to 2020 when they moved across town to the Gtech Community Stadium.
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The computer generated image of a modern day Griffin Park looks bigger than the club’s current ground.
Wembley – England
The Old Wembley shut its turnstiles for the final time in 2000 and it was eventually demolished three years later.
Its iconic twin towers were swapped for the famous arch, with the stadium host to Euros, Champions Leagues and FA Cup finals in recent years.
And by looking at AI’s interpretation, the old style would have lost its distinctive feature if was kept.
Ben Whittaker left the arena in a wheelchair after suffering a leg injury when he fell out of the ring along with opponent Liam Cameron during a wild exchange on the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev undercard on Saturday.
The incident happened as Cameron and Whittaker were backing up towards the ropes at the end of the round. As the fighters hit the ropes, they both toppled over in a dramatic scene as the crowd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia jumped to their feet.
The fighters crashed on the side of the ring after spilling over the ropes but while both athletes remained down momentarily, it was clear that Whittaker got the worst of it. As he got back to his feet, Whittaker was favoring his leg as he got back into the ring to receive medical attention.
It wasn’t long before Whittaker had his shoe removed with his trainers checking his leg and the fight was stopped when it was clear that the highly touted British prospect would not be able to continue.
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With the fight stopped due to injury, the scorecards were gathered up to provide a decision but even that ended in some controversy.
The final scores were 58-57 for Whittaker, 58-57 for Cameron and 58-58 with the fight being declared a split draw.
A dejected Cameron left the ring after believing he did enough early in the fight to deserve the win with the broadcast team marveling over his performance while admitting that Whittaker was having a tough night at the office.
In the end none of that matters with the fight scored a split draw and Whittaker requiring medical attention after falling out of the ring.
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It seems like these two are headed for a rematch in the future once Whittaker is healthy enough to compete again.
Under-pressure Arsenal women’s head coach Jonas Eidevall says his players are still giving everything on the pitch after defeat by Chelsea at home leaves his side with just one win in the WSL this season.
Super Formula has cancelled next season’s planned visit to South Korea’s Inje Speedium, and will instead race entirely within Japan in 2025.
Series promoter JRP made the announcement on Saturday ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the season at Fuji, although it’s understood that teams had already been informed of the move late last month.
It comes not much more than a month on from the official confirmation of the Inje race, which followed confirmation from Japanese national federation JAF that the series would be venturing to South Korea for its first overseas race since it visited Sepang in 2004.
Addressing reporters at Fuji, JRP boss Yoshihisa Ueno said negotiations with the Inje promoter had been proceeding, but as the conditions could not be met in the agreed timeframe, the decision was made to give up on holding the race in 2025.
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However, Ueno did not discount the prospect of the event returning in 2026 as Super Formula pursues a policy of expanding its footprint in Asia.
Besides the Inje race, the remainder of the calendar remains the same compared to the draft unveiled at the end of August, with 12 races (including five double-headers) still representing the highest number of races held in a single year in Super Formula history.
Pit lane
Photo by: Masahide Kamio
The removal of Inje from the Super Formula calendar alleviates one of two clashes with the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule, as the Korean round was set to fall on the same weekend as the test day for the Le Mans 24 Hours.
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Kamui Kobayashi previously told Motorsport.com that he was unsure whether he would continue in Super Formula owing to both that clash and the conflict between the Motegi race and the WEC’s visit to Imola in April, which remains in place.
Additionally, this year’s FIA Prize Gala in the Rwandan capital of Kigali is likely to prevent Kobayashi from attending Super Formula’s post-season test at Suzuka in December.
BEN WHITTAKER was left in a wheelchair following a freak injury after being pushed out of the boxing ring against Liam Cameron.
In the fifth round of the fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Whittaker was pushed over the top rope during a clinch.
More to follow.
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After UFC CEO Dana White expressed doubt about getting a Nick Diaz fight back on the books this year, the beloved veteran has been rescheduled against Vicente Luque on the final numbered UFC event of 2024.
Diaz, a former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger, was originally slated to fight Luque in his first bout since September 2021 at UFC on ABC 7 in August. He withdrew due to travel issues, but now a new date is set for UFC 310, which goes down Dec. 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).
The first time Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) and Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) were scheduled, it was a five-round welterweight bout. This time it is set for three rounds in the 170-pound weight class. White announced the matchup as part of a slew of matchups for the card on Saturday.
Two people with knowledge of the situation verified the booking with MMA Junkie following an initial report from MMA Mania. The people requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Diaz, older brother of Nate Diaz, hasn’t fought since losing to Robbie Lawler in 2021. That was also his first fight in six years. The 41-year-old is winless in his past four bouts, and hasn’t achieved a victory since battering B.J. Penn at UFC 137 in October 2011.
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Luque is also looking to break out of a difficult stretch. The 32-year-old has dropped three of his past four octagon appearances, with his most bout being a TKO loss to Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 54 in March.
The latest UFC 310 lineup now includes:
Belal Muhammad vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov – for welterweight title
Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura – for flyweight title
Ciryl Gane vs. Alexander Volkov
Movsar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling
Dominick Reyes vs. Anthony Smith
Virna Jandiroba vs. Tatiana Suarez
Clay Guida vs. Chase Hooper
Michael Chiesa vs. Max Griffin
Nick Diaz vs. Vicente Luque
Cody Durden vs. Joshua Van
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
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