THE ULTIMATE VENUE

What structure holds the record for more toilets than any other building in the world at 2,618?  This structure also claims two other world records.  With the retractable roof closed, it becomes the largest stadium in the world to have all 90,000 seats under cover.  Lastly, the end columns of the arched roof support are 1,034 feet apart, tower 436 feet high and can be seen from 13 miles away.  This arch represents the single largest roof span of any building in the world.   Have you guessed the structure yet?

If you guessed the new Wembley Stadium in London you would be correct. 

New Wembley Stadium, London

The original Wembley stadium was built in 1923, taking 300 days to complete at a cost of £750,000.  The British government paid for the construction in preparation for the British Empire Exhibition but after 2 years it was sold to a private party and ran very successfully for the next 77 years. The next owner was the Football Association who made the decision to have it demolished and reconstructed a new state-of-the-art facility which would be 2.5 times larger.

Old Wembley Stadium, originally built 1923

Designed by Populous and Foster and Partners, it includes a partially retractable roof and the 134-metre-high (440 feet) Wembley Arch.

Wembley Arch

During the design stage, the England Football Association felt that the game should be played in the natural elements.  That decision resulted in the retractable roof being used to cover all 90,000 seats but none of the playing field.   

Inside Wembley Stadium

Inside Wembley Stadium

Construction started in 2002 and took 5 years to complete at a cost of £798 million, making it the most expensive stadium in the world at that time.  4,000 separate piles form the foundation of the stadium, the deepest of which is 115 feet.  Over 120,000 cubic yards of concrete and 25,000 short tons of steel were used in the construction.  The total length of the escalators is ¼ mile.  

The press conference room seats 196, the largest of any ground in the UK. 

Wembley Press Conference Room, seats 196

In addition to sporting events the stadium is also used as a music venue with the number one musical act being that of Michael Jackson with 12 appearances. 

The guided tours of Wembley take about 1.5 hours and our cost was $32.   We took bus 13 from our hotel directly to Wembley Station.  Our tickets were scheduled for 1pm but on arrival I asked if we could go earlier and ended up being accommodated in the 11am tour.   The tour was not hurried, very informative and allowed several stops for short history lectures and photos.   We were allowed in the press conference room, locker room and even had fun running out the player tunnel onto the field.  Was a great tour and would recommend this highly.