Wembley Stadium Tour
Review of the Day

 Thursday 6th March 2008
at
  Wembley National Stadium, Wembley, London, HA9 0WS

The first event of the year was held in early March when a party visited Wembley for a tour of The New Wembley Stadium.

My first visit to Wembley was in 1961 when I was fortunate enough to be present and watch the first team of the 20^th century achieve the league and cup double. During the following years of this century I was also a regular visitor to Wembley supporting my own team, but unfortunately they have left it quite a few years before making a successful return this year. I was a spectator here for two Amateur Cup Finals and several International matches, and also had a tour around the old national stadium in the mid 1970’s with my wife and two children.

After a most enjoyable carvery lunch at The Wembley Plaza, the group made the short trip round the corner to the main entrance of the stadium. After registration we were introduced to our very informative guide, and then made our way up to the quieter higher levels of the stadium to the corporate area, although all the hospitality boxes remained locked. We were then taken out into the main seating area where we could see the magnitude of the new stadium, with its artificial sunlight equipment, and the ground staff using hand mowers for cutting the grass! Our guide then proceeded to give us a commentary on many facts and figures on both the old and the new stadium, some of which are mentioned later in this review. Whilst sitting here we were informed that the pitch has been moved nearly 30 metres north towards Wembley Park Station. This would mean that if I were to be standing in the same position as during my first visit in 1961, I would now be standing on the penalty spot!

Other areas which we were shown around included :-

The Dressing Rooms – A little upmarket from the dressing rooms of my playing days. Situated either side of the player’s tunnel, with an indoor warm-up area nearby. Either side has two sets of changing rooms, to accommodate larger NFL and rugby league squads, but the size of one changing room is almost large enough for a five a side. Treatment rooms and a mini hospital are close to hand, but health and safety rules mean there is no sunken bath, but the shower area more than makes up for this.

The match officials also have their own luxurious dressing rooms, but these were locked and therefore we could not see inside.

Two lines of people, in team fashion then walked through the Tunnel, past the post-match interview area, and out into the pitch surround. Here we sat in the dugouts and looked at the views of the stadium from a player’s perspective.

The Royal Box – The new Royal Box is in the middle of the north side of the stadium, just as it was before. However, on my previous tour at the old Wembley, it was a 39 step climb to the Royal Box to hold the replica FA Cup. Today it’s an exhausting 107 steps. Losing teams such as Chelsea must hate this trudge after a long match, but the winning team probably doesn’t even notice it.

The Press Conference Room – This was like a luxury mini cinema. After watching a video introduced by Michael Owen showing the highlights of the events of the old stadium, many of which were not football matches, such as Live Aid, Henry Cooper vs. Cassius Clay, Evel Knieval, The Nelson Mandela 70^th birthday tribute, The Rolling Stones, and many more. But pride of place must still go to the World Cup Final of 1966.

We were then all invited one by one to be whingeing managers on stage addressing the rest of the audience. This showed what a cosmopolitan and international group we were with supporters from Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth, Motherwell, Charlton, Arsenal, Spurs, West Ham, Notts Forest and PSV. There were also two lads from Latvia who said they supported Manchester United.

The VIP and Debentures area – Although not being allowed to see into these hospitality suites, we were shown the area outside and told that it costs over £200,000 per year for this privilege, with the amenity and dining being available almost every day of the year. Two of the suites belonging to David Beckham and Harry Redknapp.

The Bobby Moore Statue – The sculpture of England’s World Cup winning captain is twice life size to keep in proportion of being in front of a very big building. It’s creator and sculptor’s works also include the bronze of Sir Matt Busby that stands outside Old Trafford, and  the sculpture of England’s world cup winners at West Ham.

Some Facts and Figures :-

There are 2,618 toilets, more than any other building in the world.

The New Wembley encloses 4,000,000m³ inside and under its roof. This is the equivalent of 25,000 double-decker buses.

There is more leg room in every seat than there was in the Royal Box at the former stadium.

Some of the seats in the stadium are retractable to allow for the rigging of stages for music concerts.

Each of the two giant screens is the equivalent size of 600 domestic television sets.

The capacity is 90,000, the largest football stadium in the UK.

Nearly 2.5 acres of turf is used to create the playing surface.

The roof does not cover the whole ground. It is left open between events, exposing the turf to sunlight and ventilation. However, when required it can be moved to line up with the touchline to shelter spectators.

There are 98 kitchens, the biggest one being a third of the size of the pitch.

All the bars in the stadium are themed after famous Wembley events. For example bar 1966 to relive England’s world cup win, and Bar 1985 to commemorate Live Aid.

Wembley is a public transport destination and there is no parking available at or around the stadium.

The Costs

Infrastructure - Improving transport in surrounding area = £21m

Management - Financing, management and other costs = £165m

Fitting - Demolishing old ground and fitting out new = £93m

Construction -  The basic cost of building the stadium = £352m

Land – Cost of land plus stamp duties and fees = £106

                       Grand Total of £737 million

As an old sentimentalist, for me the twin towers were iconic, and I was disappointed they were demolished. I am sure that in the years to come the arch, which can be seen from many miles away will become equally as iconic for the land mark of the new Wembley Stadium.

Ken Stroud
GCA Committee

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