The Sports Fans Manifesto (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Destruction of Wembley) I wasn't too upset when I heard a few years back that wembley was going to be scrapped. But i just finished reading an article concerning the final stage of demolition and the lack of vision and romance on the part of those greedy bastards who are tearing it down is rather upsetting. something like tearing down wrigley field for a few extra bucks.. Some quotes from a FIFA.com article concerning the demolition of wembley that put things in perspective: "Demolition of Wembley stadium's Twin Towers, English soccer's most famous symbols, began on Friday, bringing the curtain down on 80 years of sporting history." "Wembley - called the Church of Football by Brazil's Pele - is most famous for hosting a victory that still resonates in England's popular culture, the 4-2 defeat of West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final." "The stadium in north-west London has hosted memorable moments ever since the very first game beneath its towers, the 1923 FA Cup final, known ever since as the 'White Horse Final'." "Organisers never dreamed that 200,000 people would flock to watch Bolton Wanderers take on West Ham United. Amid scenes of chaos, crowd-control was carried out almost single-handedly by policeman George Scorey and his white horse." "Great matches followed down the years, ranging from the "Matthews Final" of 1953, in which Stanley Matthews's Blackpool roared back to beat Bolton 4-3, to England's stunning 6-3 defeat by Ferenc Puskas's Hungary." "The demolition men moved in last September, paving the way for a new 90,000-seat stadium that is set to cost 750 million pounds ($1.24 billion) and to be unveiled in early 2006." "By the end of this month there will be some bits of foundation left but most of it will be gone," said architect Huw Thomas, who has worked on the new stadium project for seven years, on Friday. "It's fantastic to see it happening." "Now designers boast that no building in the world will have more toilets than the new Wembley." I've never been to wembley. I've never been to England. But frankly, when attending chicago cubs games.. I can hold my pee in for an extra 4 minutes and put one leg over the other so as not to get crushed in between the thin ancient uncomfortable seeting... for the pleasure of being in a building thats aesthetically pleasing. that isn't all glass and metal. like the new soldiers field will be. If only we the fans had tried to take our sports venues back from the greedy capitalist owners! FANS OF THE WORLD UNITE!! HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE
Ever been to holland? We had some of the most beautiful stadiums in the world (IMHO). But in 10 years they'll all be gone. Some are still there though. Zuiderpark (Den Haag) De Watergraafsmeer (Ajax) Oosterpark (FC Groningen) Beatrixlaan (NAC) In Holland we have whole towns that are called 'vinex-locations'. They're all the same boring houses in the same boring streets with a little boring yard in a very boring town. Our new stadiums are the same. They all look alike and are built in exactly the same way. Blech... boring.
El Ciclon for Club Atletico San Lorenzo is pretty nice like that. Great atmosphere. You should check out some of the images. http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/south_america/argentina/san_lorenzo_bidegain.shtml Only one picture on this site though, but it should give you an idea.
the two times i was in england visiting family, we had to ride past wembley on the train to get into the city. i still remember being awestruck every day riding past it, and being very sad watching the webcam of them taking it down this morning. my dad went there for the flea market thing i guess they had there and even he (someone who has only passing intrest in soccer) said it was still incredible to see. hopefully the new one will be worth it.
the only way to appreciate Wembley was from a distance. Up close it was a crumbling mess. Dark & dingy concourses. Dreadful views from a very large number of the ridiculously squashed in seats and an atmosphere that was a pale imitation of its old self from the pre-all-seater days. Anyone going to Wembley and expecting to see some awe-inspiring stadium was in for a big disappointment. The place was a dump. That's one of the reasons that its demolition has met with such little protest. The only fear is that it won't ever get built. Having been previously the site of one folly, England's version of the Eiffel Tower (abandoned after only the first 100ft had been built), the prospect of having a second half-built shell on the site is still nagging away.
I endorse everything said by RichardL. Wembley was an absolute disgrace as a national stadium for years before its demolition. The big question isn't why demolish Wembley, but why should the English FA spend £750m (minimum) on building another stadium on the site. Why does England need a national stadium? The experiment (admittedly forced on the FA) of playing international games at club grounds has been a marvellous success. The Millennium Stadium at Cardiff has proved a worthy home for cup finals. The expenditure on the new Wembley is just money thrown away.
Wembley hasnt too bad of you had seats in the olympic gallery... Im talking about those seats right up near the roof. It was a great view from up there...
The view was not the worst of it. Facilities were generally hopeless and the transport links were dreadful. I might have a different opinion if I had seen Newcastle win a game there - the last time was before I was born!
Why have found the mixed stadium for international games good. The problem with the cup finals in cardiff is that its rugby ground in wales.
I saw a game in Wembley Stadium once. It was some Charity Shield or Cup or something. I can't even remember who played... But being in a stadium like that knowing that it was built for soccer was amazing. Wembley was huge, but it had an intimate atmospere somehow. Lambeau Field in Green Bay is the only other stadium that I have ever been in that seemed as special, as historic, but of course that is football. Instead of tearing it down, they refurbished it. Same with Soldier Field basically, in Chicago (another great stadium). How could they just raze Wembley stadium?
What they've done with soldier field is a travesty. The turned a beautiful, historic stadium into a giant eyesore. The "refurbishment" part completely clashes w/ the "Soldier Field" shell. It's awful..
http://home.wanadoo.nl/harris/stadion/stadion02a.htm http://home.wanadoo.nl/harris/stadion/stadion12a.htm
Wembley was great with terracing (held 100,000) but awful when all-seater. My team moved to a new stadium in 1998. Loads of away fans (usually after a defeat) slag the new place off, saying how the atmosphere at the old place was better (it was, but only in one corner). Strangely at the time, nobody ever had a good word to say about Elm Park. It was great though (well one corner anyway). I remember one away fan commenting that after a goal the south bank (the good corner) looked like a load of maggots wriggling about in a tin. A lovely mental place. We knew how to cheer a goal, that was for certain. Nothing beats a goal going in and the crowd going so mental that you find yourself ending up 30 yards aways from where you were when the goal went in. These days the moment fans stand up and start singing stewards appear and threaten to arrest anyone who stays standing up (under the totally mistaken belief that standing was banned under the Taylor report after Hillborough in 1989, when in fact only terracing was banned). On a good day the Madejski can be great, but you need a good crowd and a good game. There is something great about the crowd being so pumped up and jumping up and down that the stadium bounces, but those days are sadly rare.
Lets face it, Wembley held its place as a fantastic venue because of its history and atmosphere, not for the excellent facilities. Now it is going ahead, then I really hope it is not a flop. I would have prefered it in Birmingham (Cuts journey times nicely) but thats just me. At least I feel we need a home for Englands oldest cup competition, at least in England!