The Magnificent Wembley Stadium

Most of us have heard of Wembley Stadium. Athletic and music artists say that they have achieved the highest honor to be able to perform at Wembley Stadium. The largest crowds for music performances since the completion of the new stadium in 2007 have been mentioned for Adele, Ed Sheeran, and One Direction to name a few. This is not to take away from some other artists like Michael Jackson, Spice Girls, and Queen who rocked out to sold-out crowds at the old Wembley Stadium.

I came across this information and continue to research for further understanding of how this wonderful venue has come to be the second-largest stadium in England and the greatest achievement on anyone’s professional resume.

In 1923 Wembley Stadium, also referred to as the “The Twin Towers”, which was the most important sporting venue in Britain was set to be re-invented for a new century of extraordinary heritage, memories, and magic. The design process of the Wembley Stadium was to be functional for multiple sporting events and musical concerts, yet the design was set to be architecturally significant.

The stadium was shut down in 2000 to start the process of demolition to present the new stadium to the world in 2003. A series of misfortunes occurred during the planning and execution phases. There was a multitude of delays due to faulty engineering before and after construction started, lack of finances and materials, and political involvement. Unfortunately, the public was not unable to enjoy the new stadium until March 2007. With all the failures that occurred during this project, the stadium also became dubbed as being one of the most poorly run projects from the beginning.

With all that said, the construction of the stadium was a massive recreation making it state of the art for decades to come. Approximately five decades is said to be the design life of the new building.

The arch consists of 41 steel rings connected by spirally tubular chords in 13 modules with two tapering end sections. The arch attachment also required a series of forestay and backstay cables to keep in position on the main stadium structure. The arch that is 436 feet in height is the “beacon” for the stadium creating an iconic statement.

The roof consists of a retractable edge section to be maneuvered to allow sunlight to come in and keep the bad weather out. The roof will cover all the seats and because there are no support beams, no spectator will have impeded views of the center of the stadium. The support for the roof comes from the arch.

It is further said the construction materials needed to complete this design were about 215,000 tons of concrete and 23,000 tons of steel to create the bowl, arch, and three-tiered seating foundations. The project also required 35 miles of heavy-duty power cables to strengthen the arch with constant tension.

The most fascinating feature of the new stadium is the ability to change the flooring to accommodate the different sporting events such as a track for runners which is elevated above the athletic turf for football (soccer)and rugby teams.

Wembley Stadium not only has an impressive architectural design, but the stadium also boasts amenities that are nothing to shake a stick at. The information can be found on the very informative website, www.designbuild-network.com/projects/wembley.

• 90,000 stadium seats

• 2,600 toilets

• 8 restaurants

• 98 kitchens

• 688 smaller food outlets

• 34 bars

• 310 wheelchair spaces

• 400 media seats

• 4 main banquet halls

• 26 lifts

• 30 sets of escalators

• 164 turnstiles

I did not have the pleasure to visit the old stadium or the new Wembley Stadium as of yet for sporting events or music concerts, however, I can assure you that is at the top of my bucket list.