The dawning of a new era
07 March 2003
On Friday, February 7th, 2003, at 2:15pm, work began to demolish Wembley Stadium’s legendary Twin Towers, marking the end of an era, but the beginning of a brilliant new one.
The Towers have been part of England’s sporting heritage since they were built in 1922, and throughout the lifetime of the old stadium, they bore witness to some of the greatest moments in sporting history.
A short ceremony celebrated Wembley’s past and looked forward to an exciting future, at the state-of-art stadium that is being built on the site.
The new stadium will cover twice the area of the old, and stand at nearly four times the height. The scale and futuristic design of the new stadium meant that there was no room for the towers, which would have stood beside the pitch had they not been demolished.
But the architects have created a new, even more dramatic sporting icon, in the form of a 133 metre-high arch, that will not only support Wembley’s new retractable roof, but will be visible across London.
Ray Clemence, the England Goalkeeping Coach who Captained England at Wembley and made 61 appearances for his country, as well as lifting The FA Cup (1974, 82) and The European Cup (1978) on Wembley soil, explained how much Wembley means to players:
“There was something unique about the stadium itself. As an England Coach I know how exciting it is for the team to know that in a few years time they will be playing here again.”
Lord Foster and Rod Sheard are the lead architects on the project, forming a partnership called The World Stadium Team. Between them they have designed some of the most famous buildings in the world including the Stansted Airport in London (Foster) and Stadium Australia (Sheard).
Presenting Wembley’s future, Foster explained:
“Today represents the end of an era but also the beginning of a bright future for the world’s most famous sports stadium. I look forward to the rise of the new arch that will symbolise Wembley’s rebirth.”
Rod Sheard added:
“The new stadium will be the best in the world, the likes of which has not been seen before, creating an unrivalled atmosphere and putting London firmly back on the international sporting stage.”
The Chief Executive of Wembley National Stadium Limited, Michael Cunnah paid tribute to everyone involved in the project, which has required the co-operation of dozens of organisations:
“This is a milestone for the Wembley Stadium project and I would like to thank everyone whose support has helped us to reach this point. In particular The FA and our funding partners Sport England, The London Development Agency and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.”
Paul Gandy, Managing Director of Multiplex Constructions UK, the company appointed to build the stadium confirmed that the stadium was well on track:
“We are already ahead of schedule and working hard with all of our contractors and designers to maintain this momentum as the new Wembley emerges over the next three years. When completed in May 2006, it will more than justify its claim to be the best stadium in the world and will truly be a worthy bearer of the Wembley spirit.”
The signal for work to begin was given by Ray Tidmarsh, a Radio Five Live listener from Devon. He was picked from thousands of entries to be given the chance to start the demolition.
Wembley Stadium will seat 90,000 fans is due to open in early 2006 with the FA cup final.
For more information ring Nick Barron, Wembley Spokesperson on 07970 237091
5 key facts
• It will be the largest covered football stadium in the world, seating 90,000
• Spectators will have approximately 30% more seating space compared with the old stadium
• The legendary atmosphere will be even better, thanks to the state of the acoustic design
• Fans will enjoy the best facilities in world sport
• It’s opening in Spring 2006
The Experience
• With 90,000 seats Wembley will be the largest football stadium in the world where all spectators are covered by a roof.
• Spectators will enjoy approximately 30% more seating space compared to the old stadium – fans will have more legroom than the old royal box.
• All spectators will have fantastic, unobstructed views of the action. Front row seats will be close to the pitch with no running track between.
• The new stadium’s acoustics have been developed to ensure a reverberant atmosphere so the crowd will generate a new Wembley Roar.
• Wembley will host many unique and World Class football matches including all senior England internationals, The FA Cup Final and Semi-Finals, The FA Community Shield, the Divisional play off finals and the League Cup Final
• The roof will be retractable, allowing the natural grass pitch to be exposed to extra natural sunlight and ventilation to help maintain it in good health. With the roof in its retracted position, FA Cup finals can be played on a sun-lit pitch, as they were in the old stadium.
• The trophy presentation route to the Royal Box, one of the most recognised features of the old Wembley, will also be part of the new stadium with teams walking up to the box to collect their trophies
• Support for a new Wembley has been received from many famous football personalities including David Beckham, Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Sven Goran Eriksson and Sir Bobby Charlton
• Fans say England should have a world beating national stadium at the spiritual home of football. It will be a special place for fans and players alike
• Wembley will be the best place to experience the true passion and magic of football
The Bottom Line
• The stadium will be built using the largest amount of private money ever raised to fund a project of this type (£433m)
• The FA is contributing £138m to the project. Sport England have contributed £120m
• The basic building cost is £352m
• Additional costs such as site purchase, demolition, design, funding as well as all fitting out costs take the total to £757m
• During the building process Wembley will be one of biggest construction sites in London and will employ up to 1,500 people
• Once complete it is estimated the stadium will generate nearly 8,000 permanent jobs and over £140m of expenditure in the London economy each year
• The construction of the new Wembley will create some £750m of direct investment in the Wembley area. Plans include a new music and concert venue, new housing and revitalised offices and industrial estates
• London Underground is undertaking a £35m upgrading of Wembley Park Station. It will have a new capacity of 50,000 passengers per hour compared to 35,000 at present - a 42% increase
• Wembley Central Station is also receiving a £20m upgrade. A further £20m is also earmarked for Wembley Stadium Station
Building the Best
• Demolition work began in September 2002 and construction of the new stadium is well underway
• The stadium will be completed in Spring 2006
• Wembley has assembled the world’s leading companies to build and provide services in the new stadium including architects Foster and Partners with HOK , Multiplex Constructions (responsible for Stadium Australia), Mott Stadium Consortium and IMG
• Independent research shows that over 60% of the English public think Wembley is the best place for a National Stadium
• For major athletics events, an international standard athletics arena can be created within the stadium on a temporary platform which can be assembled in 11 weeks and removed within 6 weeks
• With its distinctive 133 metre-high arch, Wembley will become one of London’s landmark buildings and a sporting global icon
• Wembley will offer the best in entertainment - hosting many unique and World Class events: international and club football, rugby league and concerts
• There will be more than 2000 toilets in the stadium, possibly more than any other building in the world.
• There will also be 478 food service points and the stadium will have nearly twice as many wheelchair spaces as the old stadium
Construction Statistics
• The new stadium will have a circumference of 1 kilometres
• The rows of seating terracing, if placed end to end, would stretch 54 kilometres
• 3,700 separate piles will form the foundations of the new stadium. The deepest of these, at 35 metres, is as deep as the Wembley Twin Towers were tall
• There will be 35 miles of heavy-duty power cables in the stadium
• Some 90,000 m3 of concrete and 23,000 tonnes of structural steel will be used in the construction of the new stadium
• The roof structure alone will weigh almost 7,000 tonnes.
• The new pitch will be 4 metres lower than the pitch in the old stadium