Wembley Stadium

The stadium in its very early stages of construction c. August 2003

The initial plan for the reconstruction of Wembley was for demolition to begin before Christmas 2000, and for the new stadium to be completed some time during 2003, but this work was delayed by a succession of financial and legal difficulties. In 2004, London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Brent Council also announced wider plans for the regeneration of Wembley, taking in the arena and the surrounding areas as well as the stadium, to be implemented over two or three decades. Demolition officially began on 30 September 2002, with the Twin Towers being dismantled in December 2002.

Delays to the construction project started as far back as 2003. In December 2003, the constructors of the arch, subcontractors Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company of Darlington, warned Multiplex about rising costs. Cleveland Bridge withdrew from the project and replaced by Dutch firm Hollandia with all the attendant problems of starting over. 2004 also saw errors, most notably a fatal accident involving carpenter Patrick O'Sullivan for which construction firm PC Harrington Contractors were fined £150,000 in relation to breaches of health and safety laws.[25]

In October 2005, Sports Minister Richard Caborn announced: "They say the Cup Final will be there, barring six feet of snow or something like that". By November 2005, WNSL were still hopeful of a handover date of 31 March, in time for the cup final on 13 May. However, in December 2005, the builders admitted that there was a "material risk" that the stadium might not be ready in time for the final.[26][27] In February 2006 these worries were confirmed, with the FA moving the game to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Construction of the new Wembley, looking east, taken January 2006

On 20 March 2006, a steel rafter in the roof of the new development fell by 1 ¹⁄₂ ft (46 cm), forcing 3,000 workers to evacuate the stadium and raising further doubts over the completion date which was already behind schedule.[28] On 23 March 2006, sewers beneath the stadium buckled due to ground movement.[29] GMB Union leader Steve Kelly said that the problem had been caused by the pipes not being properly laid, and that the repair would take months. Rumours circulated that the reason for the blockage was due to Multiplex failing to pay the contractors who laid the pipes who then filled in the pipes with concrete. A spokesman for developers Multiplex said that they did not believe this would "have any impact on the completion of the stadium", which was then scheduled to be completed on 31 March 2006.

On 30 March 2006, the developers announced that Wembley Stadium would not be ready until 2007.[30] All competitions and concerts planned were to be moved to suitable locations. On 19 June 2006, it was announced that the turf had been laid. On 19 October 2006 it was announced that the venue was now set to open in early 2007 after the dispute between the Football Association and Multiplex had finally been settled. WNSL was expected to pay around £36m to Multiplex, on top of the amount of the original fixed-price contract. The total cost of the project (including local transport infrastructure redevelopment and the cost of financing) was estimated to be £1 billion.

For the new stadium the level of the pitch was lowered. During excavation of the new playing field, mechanical diggers unearthed a buried obstruction: the concrete foundations of Watkin's Tower, a failed attempt to construct a rival to the Eiffel Tower in London. Only the base of the tower was ever built before being abandoned and demolished in 1907; the site was later used as the location for the first Wembley Stadium.[31]

Statue of Bobby Moore, England's 1966 FIFA World Cup winning captain, stands outside the stadium entrance looking down Wembley Way

The new stadium was completed and handed over to the FA on 9 March 2007. The official Wembley Stadium website had announced that the stadium would be open for public viewing for local residents of Brent on 3 March 2007, however this was delayed by two weeks and instead happened on 17 March.

While the stadium had hosted football matches since the handover in March, the stadium was officially opened on Saturday 19 May, with the staging of the 2007 FA Cup Final. Eight days before that on Friday 11 May, the statue of Bobby Moore had been unveiled by his former England team-mate Sir Bobby Charlton outside the stadium entrance, as the "finishing touch" to the completion of the stadium. The twice life-size bronze statue, sculpted by Philip Jackson, depicts England's 1966 World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore, looking down Wembley Way.[32][33][34]

• The stadium contains 2,618 toilets, more than any other venue in the world.[35]
• The stadium has a circumference of 1 km (0.62 mi).[36]
• The bowl volume is listed at 1,139,100 m³ (1,489,900 cu yd), somewhat smaller than the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, but with a greater seating capacity.[37]
• At its peak, there were more than 3,500 construction workers on site.[38]
• 4,000 separate piles form the foundations of the new stadium,[36] the deepest of which is 35 m (115 ft).[36]
• There are 56 km (35 mi) of heavy-duty power cables in the stadium.[36]
• 90,000 m³ (120,000 cu yd) of concrete and 23,000 tonnes (25,000 short tons) of steel were used in the construction of the new stadium.[36]
• The total length of the escalators is 400 metres (¹⁄₄ mi).[36]
• The arch has a cross-sectional diameter greater than that of a cross-channel Eurostar train.[39][40]

Wembley Stadium pitch during England friendly against Germany in August 2007.

The pitch size, as lined for association football, is 115 yd (105 m) long by 75 yd (69 m) wide, slightly narrower than the old Wembley, as required by the UEFA stadium categories for a category four stadium, the top category.

In a period after the completion of the new Wembley, the pitch came into disrepute. It was described as being "no good" and "not in the condition that Wembley used to be known for" by Slaven Bilić before a game between England and the team he managed, Croatia, in November 2007.[41] The pitch was cut up during the game, which was blamed by some[42] as the reason England did not qualify for UEFA Euro 2008.[43] The Football Association admitted in April 2009, after the FA Cup semi-finals, that improvements were needed to the Wembley pitch, after criticism of the surface by coaches Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger and David Moyes.

In March 2010, the surface was relaid for the tenth time since opening. In April 2010, the pitch was again criticised following the FA Cup semi-finals, during which the players found it difficult to keep their footing and the surface cut up despite the dry conditions. The then Tottenham Hotspur boss, Harry Redknapp labelled it a "disgrace" after his side's semi-final defeat to Portsmouth.[44] After the 2010 FA Cup Final, Chelsea captain John Terry said, "The pitch ruined the final. It's probably the worst pitch we've played on all year. It was not good enough for a Wembley pitch."[45] The stadium was then relaid with a Desso GrassMaster semi-artificial pitch, ahead of the 2010 community shield game between Chelsea and Manchester United. Michael Owen, who previously criticised the pitch for causing him injury, said that it was much improved.[46]

Wembley is used for American Football matches in the National Football League's International Series. Tottenham Hotspur hosted Manchester City in a Premier League match on 29 October 2018, a day after Wembley hosted the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars. Due to the short turnaround, faded gridiron markings and the NFL logo were clearly visible on the pitch along with worn grass along the centre of the pitch and the touch-lines. Tottenham were forced to hold the match at Wembley due to construction delays to their new ground.[47] Despite the pitch's condition, UEFA allowed a Champions League leg to be played at Wembley on 9 November 2018 with Tottenham hosting Dutch side PSV Eindhoven.[48]

Close-up of the arch

The stadium roof has an area of 40,000 m² (430,000 sq ft), of which 13,722 m² (147,700 sq ft) is movable.[37] The primary reason for the sliding roof was to avoid shading the pitch, as grass demands direct sunlight to grow effectively.[49] The sliding roof design minimises the shadow by having the roof pulled back on the east, west and south.[50] Angus Campbell, the chief architect, also said that an aim was for the pitch to be in sunlight during matches played between 3 pm and 5 pm from the beginning of May to the end of June, when the FA and World Cups would be played. However, it was mentioned during live commentary of the mid-May 2007 FA Cup Final that the pitch was in partial shade at the start at 3 pm and also during the match.[51]

The stadium roof rises to 52 metres (171 ft) above the pitch and is supported by an arch rising 133 m (436 ft) above the level of the external concourse. With a span of 315 m (1,033 ft), the arch is the longest single-span roof structure in the world.[36]

The Australian firm Multiplex, which was the main contractor on Wembley Stadium, made significant losses on the project.[52][53] In an attempt to recoup some of those losses, the firm initiated a number of legal cases against its sub-contractors and consultants.[54] The largest of these – the largest construction claim in UK legal history – was a claim for £253 million against the structural engineering consultants Mott MacDonald.[55]

In preliminary hearings the two architecture practices which worked for Multiplex on the project were ordered to allow Multiplex access to their records for them to build a case. The practices, Foster + Partners and Populous, estimated the costs of providing access and answering Multiplex's queries at £5 million.[56][57] Mott MacDonald issued a counter-claim for unpaid fees of £250,000.[55]

The dispute between Multiplex and Mott MacDonald was settled out of court in June 2010, ahead of a January 2011 trial. The terms of the settlement not disclosed, but it was reported that Multiplex "would not be out of pocket".[58]

Multiplex also took the original steel contractor, Cleveland Bridge, to court claiming £38 million[59] compensation for costs resulting from Cleveland Bridge withdrawing from the project. Cleveland Bridge, in turn, claimed up to £15 million from Multiplex. The case was resolved in September 2008 with Cleveland Bridge ordered to pay £6.1 million in damages and 20% of Multiplex's costs, after the court found against Cleveland Bridge. The judge criticised both sides for allowing the case to reach court, pointing out that total costs were £22 million, including £1 million for photocopying.[60] Multiplex's ultimate bill is estimated to be over £10 million. In 2007, Multiplex also contested a claim from its concrete contractor, PC Harrington, that Multiplex owes £13.4 million to PC Harrington.[61]

In April 2018, Shahid Khan, the owner of Fulham F.C. and the Jacksonville Jaguars, put forward an offer to purchase Wembley Stadium from the FA. The deal included not only the purchase of the stadium, but also providing the FA full rights to keep control of the Club Wembley business.[62] On 18 July 2018, a parliamentary select committee was held to discuss the possible sale, with evidence being given by former player, Gary Neville, and Katrina Law of the Football Supporters' Federation.[63][64] The offer was withdrawn on 17 October 2018.[65]

Wembley Stadium has a series of annual events that under normal circumstances are hosted at Wembley year in year out. These events cover the sports of football, rugby league, and American football.[76]

Fans of the England football team create the St George's Cross

The first match at the stadium was a game played behind closed doors between Multiplex and Wembley Stadium staff.[77] The first game in front of spectators was between the Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI and the Wembley Sponsors Allstars on 17 March 2007. The Geoff Thomas Foundation Charity XI won 2–0 (scorers Mark Bright and Simon Jordan).[78] The first official match involving professional players was England U21s vs Italy U21s on 24 March 2007, which finished 3–3. Official attendance was 55,700 (although all of the 60,000 tickets that were made available were sold in advance).[79] The first player to score in a FIFA-sanctioned match was Italian striker Giampaolo Pazzini after 28 seconds of the same game; he also scored the first hat-trick at Wembley. The first English player to score in a full-scale match was David Bentley with a free kick in the same game.[79]

Tottenham Hotspur celebrate winning the Football League Cup against Chelsea in 2008

The first club game, competitive game, and cup final held at the new Wembley took place on 12 May 2007 when Kidderminster Harriers met Stevenage Borough in the FA Trophy final.[80] Kidderminster striker James Constable was the first player to score a goal in a final at the new Wembley. Kidderminster became the first team to play at both the old and new stadium. Stevenage Borough were the first team to win a final at the new Wembley beating Kidderminster 3–2, despite trailing 2–0 at half time. The first players to play at both the old and new Wembley Stadiums were Steve Guppy (for Stevenage Borough) and Jeff Kenna (for Kidderminster Harriers). Ex-England international Guppy is also the first player to win a final at both stadia (with Wycombe Wanderers and Leicester City in the old Wembley, then Stevenage Borough in the new one). Ronnie Henry is the first ever player to lift a competitive club trophy at the new Wembley.[81]

Portsmouth fans celebrate winning the FA Cup against Cardiff City in 2008. The 89,974 attendance is the largest football attendance in the new Wembley's history.[82]

The first penalty save and first red card came in the Conference National playoff final between Exeter City and Morecambe. The penalty was saved by Paul Jones of Exeter City from Morecambe striker Wayne Curtis. The red card was given to Matthew Gill of Exeter for a headbutt on Craig Stanley of Morecambe.[83]

The first Football League teams to play at Wembley in a competitive fixture were Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury Town in the 2007 Football League Two play-off Final on 26 May 2007. Shrewsbury Town became the first league team to score at Wembley via a Stewart Drummond goal, they also the first league team to have a player sent off, in this case – Marc Tierney Bristol Rovers won the game 3–1 in front of 61,589 which was a stadium record until the Championship play-off final two days later when Derby County beat West Bromwich Albion 1–0 to become the first team at the new stadium to win promotion to the FA Premier League.

The first FA Cup Final at the new Wembley (between Manchester United and Chelsea) was on 19 May 2007, with a crowd attendance of 89,826. Chelsea won 1–0 with a goal by Didier Drogba, making him the first player to score in the FA Cup Final at the new Wembley – the first (and as of 2018, the only) player to score in four separate FA Cup Finals, Drogba also holds the record for most goals scored at the new Wembley with eight.[82][84] Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Čech also became the first goalkeeper not to concede a goal in a competitive game at Wembley. Chelsea were the last winners of the cup final at the old Wembley and the first winners at the new.

Wembley hosted the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund

The first game involving the full English national team was a friendly played on 1 June 2007, against Brazil. The match saw captain John Terry become the first England international goal scorer at the new stadium when he scored in the 68th minute. Diego became the first full international player to score for a visiting team when he scored in stoppage time, with the full-time result being a 1–1 draw. The first competitive senior international was played on 8 September 2007 between England and Israel. This game ended 3–0. The first player to score international goals at both the old and new stadia was Michael Owen when he scored for England against Israel. On 22 August Germany beat England 2–1 to become the first team to beat them in the new stadium. England's first competitive defeat at the new stadium was on 21 November 2007 when Croatia won 3–2. This match cost England qualification to Euro 2008 and head coach Steve McClaren his job.

The second FA Cup final held at the new stadium took place on 17 May 2008, with Portsmouth winning the title 1–0 against Cardiff City; Nwankwo Kanu scored the only goal. The final's 89,974 crowd attendance remains the largest football attendance in the new Wembley's history.[82]

Wembley Stadium hosted the UEFA Champions League Final for the first time on 28 May 2011 when Barcelona played Manchester United.[85] The stadium hosted the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, and in September 2019 it was named the host for the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final.[15] Due to adjustments of the 2020 final caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, it will stage the following season's final instead.[16]

During the 2012 Olympics, Great Britain defeated Brazil in the first women's international to take place at the stadium.[86] On 23 November 2014 the England women's team played at the stadium for the first time when they lost 3–0 to Germany in a friendly.[87]

Leeds and Castleford contested the 2014 Challenge Cup final.

The Rugby league Challenge Cup Final had been played annually at the old Wembley Stadium since 1929. In 2007, the cup final returned to its traditional home after the rebuilding of Wembley.[88] When Catalans Dragons played St. Helens in the 2007 Challenge Cup Final, they became the first non-English rugby league team to play in the final. The result saw St Helens retain the cup by a score of 30–8 before 84,241 fans.[89] The first rugby league team to win a game at the new Wembley Stadium, were Normanton Freeston. The West Yorkshire secondary school beat Castleford High School in the Year 7 boys Carnegie Champion Schools final, which was played immediately prior to the 2007 Challenge Cup Final.[90] The first official try at the renovated Wembley was scored by James Roby of St Helens, although Luke Metcalfe of Castleford High School scored the first try in the schools game that took place before the 2007 Challenge Cup final.[91]

In 2011, International rugby league returned to Wembley for the first time since 1997 when Wales lost to New Zealand 0–36[92] and Australia beat host nation England 36–20[93] in the 2011 Rugby League Four Nations. The semi-finals of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup were played at Wembley Stadium where defending champions New Zealand beat England 20–18, and eventual tournament champions Australia defeated Fiji 64–0. The double header drew 67,575 fans to Wembley, the second highest crowd for an international rugby league game at either the original or the new stadium.

Year	Date	Tournament	Match	Country	Score	Country	Attendance
2011	23 November	Four Nations	Round 2	Wales	0–36	New Zealand	42,344
			Round 2	England	20–36	Australia
2013	5 November	World Cup	Semi-final	New Zealand	20–18	England	67,545
			Semi-final	Australia	64–0	Fiji

Castleford Academy (formerly Castleford High School) currently hold the record for the most Rugby League appearances at the New Wembley Stadium. On 24 August 2013 their Year 7 Rugby team played RGS High Wycombe in the annual schools curtain-raiser to the Challenge Cup final.[94] This was Castleford Academy's 4th appearance at the stadium since 2007. This puts them joint with Leeds and one appearance ahead of Warrington.

Wembley in rugby union formation, with posts up before Saracens played Worcester Warriors in 2010.

The first top level rugby union match was a non-cap match between the Barbarians and Australia on 3 December 2008.[95]

Between 2009 and 2017, the stadium was used regularly by Saracens for some major Aviva Premiership and Heineken Cup matches. Their Aviva Premiership clash with Harlequins in 2012 was played before a crowd of 83,761, a world record for a rugby union club match. The same two teams set further records of 83,889 spectators in 2014,[96] and 84,068 in 2015.[97]

The stadium was used during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, during which it hosted two pool matches:

Year	Date	Match	Country	Score	Country	Attendance
2015	20 September	Pool C Match	New Zealand	26–16	Argentina	89,019[98]
	27 September	Pool D Match	Ireland	44–10	Romania	89,267[99]

The 89,019 crowd for the New Zealand versus Argentina game set a new record attendance for a Rugby World Cup game.[98] The Ireland versus Romania match one week later improved this record again to 89,267.[99] Although the 90,000 seat Wembley was the largest stadium used during the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the World Cup Final was held at the 82,000 seat Twickenham Stadium, the traditional home of the tournament's host, England's Rugby Football Union.

Build up to the 2010 game between Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers

On 28 October 2007, in front of 81,176 fans, the New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins by a score of 13–10 in the first regular season NFL game ever to be played in Europe, and the first outside of North America.[100] The first touchdown scored at Wembley was on a run by Giants' quarterback Eli Manning. The NFL have hosted at least one regular season game a year at Wembley since.

On 21 August 2012, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced a four-year deal to become temporary tenants of Wembley by playing one regular season game each year between 2013 and 2016 and becoming the first team to return to Wembley in consecutive years.[101]

On 16 October 2012, the NFL announced there were to be two NFL regular season games played at Wembley Stadium during the 2013 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings on 29 September 2013, and the San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars on 27 October 2013. This is an attempt by the NFL to strengthen the NFL fanbase in London and internationally. Future plans to have a permanent NFL team in London have been suggested.[102]

Another first was recorded in 2014 as three regular season NFL games were played at Wembley. The Oakland Raiders hosted the Miami Dolphins on 28 September at 6 pm BST, the Atlanta Falcons hosted the Detroit Lions on 26 October at 1:30 pm GMT and the Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Dallas Cowboys on 9 November at 6 pm GMT.[103] At 9:30 am ET, the Detroit-Atlanta game was the earliest kick off in NFL history and gave fans a unique four game window on this day.[104] In 2015, another first occurred as the first ever divisional match took place at Wembley between the American Football Conference – Eastern Division's Miami Dolphins and New York Jets.

On 30 October 2016, for the first time in an NFL game played outside the US, the game carried into overtime and subsequently ended in a tie (another first for both Wembley and a London Game) in a week 8 match between the Washington Redskins and the Cincinnati Bengals. The final score was 27–27.

The Jacksonville Jaguars game which was scheduled to play in fall, was cancelled in May 2020.[105]

On 31 May 2014, Wembley Stadium hosted its first boxing event, featuring the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves for the IBF and WBA super-middleweight titles.[106] The contest was held in front of a crowd of 80,000 spectators, a British post-war attendance record for a boxing event, surpassing the crowd at the City of Manchester Stadium when it hosted Ricky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano in May 2008.[107]

The World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation heavyweight championship fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko broke the attendance record on 29 April 2017, with an attendance of approximately 90,000.[108] Joshua in 2018 additionally took on Alexander Povetkin at the stadium.[109]

The stadium is connected to two London Underground stations: Wembley Park Station (on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines) via Olympic Way, and Wembley Central (Bakerloo line) via the White Horse Bridge. Rail links are provided at Wembley Central (London Overground, Southern and London Northwestern Railway services) and Wembley Stadium railway station (Chiltern Railways services).

Stations near by:

Service	Station	Lines
London Underground	Wembley Park	Jubilee line Metropolitan line
	Wembley Central	Bakerloo line
London Overground		Watford DC Line
National Rail		Southern Railways London Northwestern Railway
	Wembley Stadium	Chiltern Railways

Aerial view of Wembley Stadium and its surroundings

The onsite parking facility is shared with Wembley Arena, essentially being the open air surface parking surrounding the eastern flank of Wembley Stadium and the multi-storey car park. These are called Green Car Park and Red Car Park, respectively. There is disabled parking available onsite, at the Green Car Park, at a reduced rate but on a first come first served basis. On some football event dates, opposing team supporters have been separated into the two different car parks.

London Bus routes near by:[129][130]