Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which had stood from 1923 until 2003.[8][9] The stadium is England's national football stadium, and thus hosts the majority of the England national football team home matches and the FA Cup Final - the final of England's primary domestic club football competition. Wembley Stadium is owned by the governing body of English football, the Football Association (the FA), whose headquarters are in the stadium, through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL). With 90,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in the UK and the second-largest stadium in Europe.[10]
This article is about the stadium opened in 2007. For the original stadium which it replaced, see Wembley Stadium (1923). For the nearby indoor arena, see Wembley Arena. For the railway station, see Wembley Stadium railway station.Full name
Wembley Stadium connected by EE
Wembley National Stadium Limited
166
90,000[5] (association football, rugby union, rugby league, boxing)
75,000 to 90,000 seated and 25,000 standing (concerts)
86,000 to 87,000 (UEFA capacity)
86,000 (American football)
Football: 89,874 (Cardiff City vs. Portsmouth, 17 May 2008)
Concert: 98,000 (Adele, June 2017)
Boxing: 94,000 (Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte, 23 April 2022)
NFL: 86,215 (Denver Broncos vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 30 October 2022)
Wrestling: 72,265 (AEW All In, 27 August 2023)[6]
115 yd × 74 yd (105 m × 68 m)
Hatko Hybridgrass HATKO
30 September 2002[2]
2003–2007
9 March 2007
HOK Sport (now Populous), Foster and Partners, Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners (planning consultants)[3]
Mott Stadium Consortium and Jimmy Higham– Mott MacDonald, Sinclair Knight Merz & Aurecon[4]
Jimmy Higham[4]
Designed by Populous and Foster and Partners, the stadium is crowned by the 134-metre-high (440 ft) Wembley Arch which serves aesthetically as a landmark across London as well as structurally, with the arch supporting over 75% of the entire roof load.[11] The stadium was built by Australian firm Multiplex at a cost of £798 million (£1.27 billion today).[12] Two partially retractable roof structures over the east and west ends of the stadium can be opened to allow sunlight and aid pitch growth.
In addition to England home games and the FA Cup final, the stadium also hosts other major games in English football, including the season-opening FA Community Shield, the finals of lower tierd cup competition - the FA Trophy, the FA Vase, finals of the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy, the FA Cup semi-finals, and the promotion play-off finals of the tiers two, three, four, and five of the English football league system. The stadium also hosts the Women's FA Cup Final and an increasing number of home games of the England women's national football team.
A UEFA category four stadium, Wembley hosted the 2011 and 2013 UEFA Champions League Finals, eight games at UEFA Euro 2020 (including the final and both of the semi-finals),[13] UEFA Euro 2028, and hosted the final of the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.[14] It will stage the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final.[15] The stadium hosted the gold-medal matches at the 2012 Olympic Games football tournament. The stadium also hosts the Rugby Football League's Challenge Cup, Women's Challenge Cup, and 1895 Cup finals, in addition to various music concerts. The stadium also hosted NFL London Games until 2019 and was also the temporary home of Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur between August 2017 and March 2019, while White Hart Lane was being demolished and their new stadium was constructed.
In 2014, Wembley Stadium entered into a six-year sponsorship agreement with mobile provider EE Limited, under which it provides technology and infrastructure services for the venue. Under the agreement, the facility is officially referred to as "Wembley Stadium connected by EE".[16] The deal was renewed in 2019 for a further 5 years, as part of EE's parent company BT's sponsorship deal with the England football team.[17]
