Why did this happen?

Ricochet J · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:21

Wembley £757 million

Millennium Stadium £190 million

And Wembley doesn't have a fully retractable roof.
Are Multiplex solely to blame?

Azagoth · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:23

I believe the technical term is "backhanders"!

Raumarik · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:24

Wembley was made a few years later wasn't it? that'd raise the price a bit, they also went for a super fancy roof and more facilities.

Doesn't quite justify that price though. It's a cash cow.

Voltar · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:27

NULABOUR.

That is why.

V4NT0M · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:29

because now we have the most expensive stadium ever build. May not be the best but it's the most expensive, we are the most decadent capitalist pigs in all of the western world.

Go us.

Hate · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:29

They missed a chunk out of the millstad, see.

Peño · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:47

Firstly that middle tier is Club Wembley which is both corporate and members only. Not sure which game that was, but probably was insignificant for those members to turn up to.

Secondly, Wembley chose not to have a fully retractable roof because having one would have a negative impact on the quality of the pitch due to poor sunlight/shadows:

Wembley said:
Many new stadia have suffered from poor pitches as the stands in them stadia can leave large sections of the pitch in almost permanent shadow. Grass demands direct sunlight to grow effectively.

For this reason, the sliding roof remains an integral part of the design for the new Wembley. Options such as a palletised pitch (moving a patchwork pitch in and out of the Stadium between events) or regularly re-laying the pitch were rejected as inappropriate for Wembley.

Instead, computer models have been made of air movement and sunlight on the existing pitch and the unique moving roof designed for the new Stadium.

TaKeN · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:51

£757 million.. thats just a joke.

Money well spent ? no ******* way

MR_Punk · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:55

If you want a roof have one - just use what we use down at the Emirates - lots and lots of light bulbs

FC1983 · 5 Jun 2008 at 22:58

The Wembley pitch is terrible though, that sunlight thing is a load of rubbish.

Morba · 5 Jun 2008 at 23:26

wembley is fantastic though, the amount of space used in the eating and other public areas is huge in comparison to the millenium stadium (atleast thats how it feels when walking around the place).

David91 · 5 Jun 2008 at 23:44

they ran out of poles and had to employ some brits instead

SimonTW · 6 Jun 2008 at 00:10

Morba said:
wembley is fantastic though, the amount of space used in the eating and other public areas is huge in comparison to the millenium stadium (atleast thats how it feels when walking around the place).

I agree, the stadium is very impressive to visit. Facilities are nice, especially in the Club Wembley area I went to.

aslco · 6 Jun 2008 at 00:13

TaKeN said:
£757 million.. thats just a joke.

Money well spent ? no ******* way

Yep, even if it was £500 million, that means we could have spend 200 million+ on new youth schemes as the english FA seriously need some.

Azagoth · 6 Jun 2008 at 00:59

Should have got the Japanese to design and build it.

setter · 6 Jun 2008 at 01:08

aside from the costs i think the millenium stadium looks far better than the new wembley. what i thought was a great thing, when the english team had no national stadium. international games were played at various grounds around england, eg old trafford villa park. gave more people access to their games.

NokkonWud · 6 Jun 2008 at 02:37

It actually cost more than that, the actual figure is supposed to be closer to £1bn.

The real estate of land in London is a joke, Wembley is on prime real estate too and it cost a LOT just for the land. Then the costs. I've not been to Wembley, my father has and he didn't like it at all, but he loves the Millenium Stadium (which I was underwhelmed by).

What IS embarassing is this:
http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/

$1bn, so cheaper than Wembley by a long way.

Total Square Footage: 2.3 million square feet. The entire Statue of Liberty and its base could fit into the stadium with the roof closed. The stadium is also the world's largest column-free room. The American Airlines Center in Dallas could fit entirely into the new stadium at field level.

Glass Retractable Door: Each end zone features a five-leaf clear glass retractable door measuring 120 feet high and 180 feet wide, making it the tallest moveable glass wall in the world.

Parking: It is estimated that between parking owned or under control of the Dallas Cowboys as well as the entrepreneurial lots in and around the stadium area, that there will be 30,000 parking spaces available to fans on game day.

The Cowboys are adding an innovative design element to the Stadium with a one-of-a-kind center-hung video board. It hangs 110-feet above the field from the arches, but here is what will be exciting to fans: It will stretch between the 20 yard lines, meaning the sideline boards will span 60 yards. So the fans sitting in the upper decks will have what amounts to a larger-than life game being played directly in front of them if they choose not to look down at the field, giving them an unprecedented benefit up top.

benji182 · 6 Jun 2008 at 02:50

NokkonWud said:
The real estate of land in London is a joke, Wembley is on prime real estate too and it cost a LOT just for the land.

Watched a program and the average plot of land in the UK is 3 times that of the US so i'd imagine its even more in London.

Morte · 6 Jun 2008 at 08:58

But didn't Wembley already own the land?

scorza · 6 Jun 2008 at 09:05

Does that £757m figure include money to upgrade the transport infrastructure around Wembley as well? I know Wembley Park tube was significantly improved as part of the redevelopment. The Millenium Stadium is a complete PITA to get to - Wembley isn't.