10.
Wembley Stadium
Wembley
Stadium (often referred to simply as Wembley, pronounced /ˈwɛmbli/, or
sometimes as the New Wembley) is a football stadium located in Wembley Park, in
the Borough of Brent, London, England. It opened in 2007 and was built on the
site of the previous 1923 Wembley Stadium. The earlier Wembley stadium,
originally called the Empire Stadium, was often referred to as "The Twin
Towers" and was one of the world's most famous football stadiums until its
demolition in 2003.
It is a UEFA category four stadium. The 90,000-capacity
venue (105,000 combined seating and standing) is the second largest stadium in
Europe, and serves as England's national stadium. It is the home venue of the
England national football team, and hosts the latter stages of the top level
domestic club cup competition, the FA Cup. It is owned by English football's
governing body, The Football Association (The FA), through their subsidiary
Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL).
Designed by Foster and Partners
and HOK Sport (since renamed Populous), it includes a partially retractable
roof. A signature feature of the stadium, following on from the old Wembley's
distinctive Twin Towers, is the 134-metre-high (440 ft) Wembley Arch. With a
span of 317 metres (1,040 ft), this steel arch is the longest single-span roof
structure in the world and, uniquely for a stadium, requires beacons for
low-flying aircraft. The stadium was built by Australian firm Multiplex at a
cost of £798 million. The old Wembley closed in October 2000, with demolition
originally intended for that December and the new stadium due to open in 2003.
After delays to the project, with demolition first started in September 2002,
the old Wembley was not completely demolished until February 2003, with the new
stadium scheduled to open in time for the 2006 FA Cup Final. After further
delays, the stadium was delivered nearly a year late, leading to legal disputes
between WNSL and Multiplex, who ultimately made a significant loss on the
project. The stadium was handed over on 9 March 2007, in time to host the 2007
FA Cup Final.
In international football, the
stadium was a central component of the failed English 2018 and 2022 FIFA World
Cup bids. In 2012 it will host the football finals of the London Olympics. In
club football, in addition to the FA Cup the stadium hosts the showpiece
season-opening game the FA Community Shield match, played in August between the
winners of the FA Cup and the top-level Premier League. In mid-season it also
hosts the finals of the Football League Cup and Football League Trophy. At the
end of the domestic season, the stadium also hosts the finals of the Football
League play-offs. In European football, it hosted the 2011 Champions League
Final, and will host the final again in 2013. In friendly tournaments, since 2009
it has been the venue of the summer Wembley Cup. Outside of football, the
stadium also hosts major rugby league games, such as the Challenge Cup and
International Rugby League. The stadium is also an annual regular season venue
for the American National Football League's International Series, the first
such venue outside North America. Non-sporting uses include large music
concerts such as Concert for Diana, Live Earth and the Summertime Ball.
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