Wembley Opening is upon us (finally!!!)

It’s typical of the British; nothing is ever built on time. Whether it’s road works, new gas-pipes, schools, office blocks, houses and of course how can we forget; multi-million pound stadiums.
Yes, after months of delays and miscalculated figures, the new Wembley stadium is finally set to open its gates to the patiently waiting public….. and it’s about time.
The first match inside the extravagant 90,000-seater football arena is scheduled for March 24th when England and Italy’s under-21 teams square off in a friendly match. But only 60,000 tickets have been allocated for this fixture, as it is to serve as a safety test for the official inauguration game, which will be the English FA Cup final on May 19th. It was around this time last year that we were saying the same thing about the West Ham and Liverpool final. But unfortunately for both teams and their fans, delays meant that the teams would have to see out a thrilling final that finished 3-3 and a penalty shoot-out victory for the Kop at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium (what an opening game that would have been for the new stadium). But will it be worth the wait? Or will it be a waste of taxpayer’s money?
Whilst we are on the subject of money; there have been substantial misjudgements in the amount the stadium was actually meant to cost, much like the 2012 Olympics (which is another event that the government has managed to balls up). According to the initial plan, construction works should have been completed in August 2005. The delays raised costs from initially around 250 million pounds to more than £757 million pounds, that’s quite a difference wouldn’t you say?
On Friday 9th March, Australia’s Multiplex Group handed over the keys to its owners. A spokesperson for Multiplex stated; “Multiplex Group is pleased to announce that the Certificate of Practical Completion has now been granted for the Wembley Stadium project in London. The granting of this certificate by Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL) marks the handover of the management and control of the stadium to WNSL.”
The stadium’s most notable feature is a 315 meter long arch, the longest single span roof structure in the world. It is 133 meters above the pitch at its highest point, which is taller than the nearby Millennium Wheel. The first concert scheduled for the revamped stadium is set to be by George Michael on 9th June.
The old Wembley, which opened in 1924, closed in 2000 and was demolished in 2002. The last game played at the previous stadium was in 2000, when Kevin Keagan's England team lost 1-0 to old rivals Germany (which led to the former manager’s departure).
England’s new home of football promises to be the biggest, brightest and best in the world. It dwarfs the previous Wembley and can be seen (when lit up) from miles and miles away. The first FA Cup final in the new arena could be even better than last year if Champions Chelsea and league rivals Manchester United clash. United are the only team to have appeared in the FA Cup final in every decade since the Second World War and have been in the final sixteen times, with eleven victories as the current record. Chelsea have to see off Blackburn Rovers and United have to beat Watford in the semi-finals if this fixture is to ever occur.
But before the cup final we can look forward to the first international game at Wembley. The under 21 match between England and Italy on March 24th will not use the stadium's full capacity of 90,000 because it is a test event required for the stadium to obtain a safety certificate from the local council. The record crowd for an England under 21 match is currently 34,000 which was set against France in November 2005 at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane stadium.
At the end of the day, even though there have been many delays, several let-downs, big money problems, thousands of disappointed fans and a lot of broken promises, we only have to take just one glance at our country’s new national stadium and be proud. We can safely say that once again our great nation has achieved greatness. All we need now is the World Cup safely locked away in the trophy cabinet. Well, we can dream can’t we…?