Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium (or simply Wembley) is a football stadium located in Wembley, north west
London, which opened in 2007 on the site of the old Wembley stadium. The 90,000 capacity
venue is 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). The old Wembley stadium, which opened in 1923 as the Empire Stadium, often
referred to as "The Home of Football", was one of the world's most famous football stadiums
until its demolition in 2003.
Designed by Foster and Partners and Populous, the new Wembley is the largest and tallest
stadium in the world, and includes a partially retractable roof. A signature feature of the
stadium, following on from the the old Wembley's distinctive Twin Towers, is the 134 metres
(440 ft) high Wembley Arch. With a span of 317 metres (1,040 ft), this steel arch is the
longest single span roof structure in the world. 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, the old Wembley was not completely demolished until 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.