Wembley stadium: FA You were done!

[Gromit]

Mil Stad for me.

I was in the back of the lower tier so view wasn't too bad. Wouldn't have wanted to have been any higher.

I couldn't hear the Barnsley fans at all. The were miles away.

Escaping the ground is one great big bottleneck.

Lack of nearby pubs.

I'll admit that the Mil Stad can give people a bit of virtigo but thats a nessesary evil for great views.

Wales had to beg and plead for funding for the Mil Stad and got nowhere near what Wembley did. Christ imagine what we could have done with the same money!!

 

[aylee]

I think that architecturally, Wembley is very impressive. I've got some great photos of the arch at night after leaving a gig at the Arena.

I agree, however, that even allowing for the higher development costs of a London site, the fact that Wembley cost about six times as much as the Millenium Stadium is pretty inexplicable. I've never been to a sports match at Wembley Stadium (though I did see Muse and Live Earth there) and I've never been inside the Millenium Stadium so I can't comment on the point about the match atmosphere.

The public transport links were never going to improve a great deal, though I agree with those that say that the situation is better now than it was .... the trouble is that the volume of trains coming through the station simply can't cope with anything between 50,000 and 80,000 people trying to get on the train more or less at the same time. The LU is too bone-headed to think outside the box and arrange for lots of extra trains in the way that South-West Trains does when there's a gig on at Twickenham.

 

[_angel_]

I have to say I prefer the Millennium, and the reasons aren't about me being Welsh:

1. Location. The area around Wembley is a FUCKING SHITHOLE. There's no decent pubs, bars or restaurants for miles. At the Millennium there's over 70 bars within a quarter mile radius capable of accommodating around 60,000 supporters. And you're on a main transport interchange.

We stayed right opposite the stadium a few months ago and there's a really nice Indian restaurant *that was totally empty, on a friday night as well!* right opposite.

There were a number of pubs/ other places pretty nearby as well..

 

[editor]

We stayed right opposite the stadium a few months ago and there's a really nice Indian restaurant *that was totally empty, on a friday night as well!* right opposite.
There were a number of pubs/ other places pretty nearby as well..

Oh, FFS.

No one's saying that Wembley has no pubs. What we're saying that compared to Cardiff as a destination for football fans it's a depressing experience.

A 'number of pubs' is a fat lot of good when you've got tens of thousands of fans sometimes travelling large distances to the ground looking for a good pre/post match experience. And that means lots and lots of good pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants, easily accessible and right next to the stadium, with easy transport connections home.

Have you ever been to a game at either stadium?

 

[1927]

You're a welsh person aren't you 1927? Course ya gonna say Millenium stadium is better.

Of course I'm totally one-eyed, that's why I think Ninian Park spanks Old Trafford.FFS do you really think I would let the facts obscure my views on this?

As for your suggestion that both semi-finals be held at MS I think that would have been a good idea on two fronts. A way of saying thak you for hosting the FA cup while Wembley was built, and it would keep Wembley special for the final.

Interestingly, when they held FAC at Wembley they insisted on a clean stadium, that is the rights of any debenture holders were dismissed so FA could allocate tickets as they saw fit. Funny how in the new Wembley it those same rights which override logic and result in a stadium not full for two of the biggest games of the domestic season!

 

[1927]

Oh, FFS.

No one's saying that Wembley has no pubs. What we're saying that compared to Cardiff as a destination for football fans it's a depressing experience.

A 'number of pubs' is a fat lot of good when you've got tens of thousands of fans sometimes travelling large distances to the ground looking for a good pre/post match experience. And that means lots and lots of good pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants, easily accessible and right next to the stadium, with easy transport connections home.

Have you ever been to a game at either stadium?

There was the Greyhound, Blue Check, Thirsty Eddie's within walking distance, apart from that there wasnt much to offer! Hardly an oasis but not excatly the capacity of Cardiff for close by boozers!

 

[_angel_]

Oh, FFS.

No one's saying that Wembley has no pubs. What we're saying that compared to Cardiff as a destination for football fans it's a depressing experience.

A 'number of pubs' is a fat lot of good when you've got tens of thousands of fans sometimes travelling large distances to the ground looking for a good pre/post match experience. And that means lots and lots of good pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants, easily accessible and right next to the stadium, with easy transport connections home.

Have you ever been to a game at either stadium?

I don't go to football matches. We just happened to stay right behind Wembley stadium and it didn't quite tally with your description of a void.

(I'm sure it's got a helluvaalot more going for it than Elland Road has. Never been to Cardiff so I couldn't say)
I still can't work out why the Indian restaurant was deserted on a (busy) Friday evening tho'.

 

[editor]

I don't go to football matches. We just happened to stay right behind Wembley stadium and it didn't quite tally with your description of a void.

I think you're having trouble with scale. A few pubs and restaurants may seem a lot to you but when we're talking of tens of thousands of football fans it really is fuck all.

I still can't work out why the Indian restaurant was deserted on a (busy) Friday evening tho'.

That's just a reflection of the overall unpopularity of the area as a night time destination. People generally don't travel to Wembley for a night out or a meal.

However, Cardiff would be absolutely rammed on a Fri night.

 

[_angel_]

I think you're having trouble with scale. A few pubs and restaurants may seem a lot to you but when we're talking of tens of thousands of football fans it really is fuck all.
That's just a reflection of the overall unpopularity of the area as a night time destination. People generally don't travel to Wembley for a night out or a meal.

However, Cardiff would be absolutely rammed on a Fri night.

Nowt to do with the stadium; but it was really busy out on the street (10 pm ish on a Friday!) and this place was empty! Really nice food, too. Complete mystery.

The other mystery: why no cabs outside the tube station??

 

[London_Calling]

There's hardly any residential community around Wembley Stadium itself, it's mostly conference halls, hotels, car parks, industrial estates, office buildings and other venues - impossible for their to be normal community activity so there are few 'normal' businesses (like independent pubs and restaurants)

The only 'busy' is the roads - which are taking people too and from elsewhere.

But then 'Wembley' - in every sense - has always been the creation of BBC propaganda; it was pretty much always a shithole unless you happened to have the contract to broadcast FA Cup Final's and England Internationals.

 

[gunneradt]

oh no they didn't

Having been to the new Wembley for the first time, I would just like to point out to the FA that they have been well and truly stitched up by the builders/architects.

Compare the Millenium stadium, cost £121M to Wembley, cost £circa800M and the two just dont compare. The seats are a taxi ride from the pitch, there is no room in the concourse area, getting out is a nightmare, and besides its built in the arse end of nowhere without a decent pub for fuckin miles!!! No wonder all the footy fans loved coming to Cardiff for all those years!

 

[mattie]

The bit I most admired about Cardiff was the relative ease by which opposing fans were dealt with - a lot of mingling and banter in the road outside the ground, but segregation in other pubs. I never saw any trouble, going to 2 play-off finals with West Ham and an FA Cup final (sadly not West Ham), and the play-off win was a day to remember. I would suspect that the approach at Wembley is to get people away from the ground into other areas, diffusing the volume of football supporters. It makes sense from a number of perspectives but the flaw in the plan being, of course, that it's a royal pain in the arse to actually get anywhere else in any reasonable time - I thought improving transport links was part of the development, obviously not.

I've not been to the redeveloped Wembley but I went to the old one half-a-dozen times or so in the mid/late 90's, and in general it took the coaches over an hour and half to get out onto the M25. This is complete madness. Madejski built their stadium right on the M4 and with dedicated buses going to the train station, I can't see what plans or changes the FA have made - anyone any idea?

 

[CyberRose]

Millenium Stadium and the new Wembley are the two best stadiums I've been to (and I've been to Bramall Lane!). As for the actual stadium, I think Wembley just edges it for me, altho I do like the close proximity to the pitch you can get at the Millenium Stadium which is something missing from most modern stadiums. I can't really comment on atmospheres as when I was at the Millenium Stadium Sheff Utd were in the playoff final and when I went to Wembley it was for an American Football match! (And that is not an invitation to make jokes about the lack of noise from Blades fans either!). I don't think either time I went for a drink before the match (well, at Wembley I had to wait in a pub across from the Travelodge for hours because our room wasn't ready so we didn't have time to go near Wembley even if there were any!). I don't think that's too much of a problem as it's not exactly hard to jump on the Underground and drink away from the ground somewhere (plus pubs next to stadiums where 70,000 people are gonna be aint exactly gonna be the most comfortable of places to get a drink in!!!)

Edit: Oh yea, forgot to answer the actual question! Well in terms of cost the Millenium Stadium was much better value than Wembley, but I do think Wembley is a better stadium!

 

[souljacker]

Madejski built their stadium right on the M4 and with dedicated buses going to the train station, I can't see what plans or changes the FA have made - anyone any idea?

Yeah, but the A33 still grinds to a halt every matchday. And as for evening games......


My only experience with the Millenium stadium was going with Reading supporting mates for the playoffs a few years ago. It took us 2 hours to get from the ground to the M4. Fucking nightmare.

 

[mattie]

Yeah, but the A33 still grinds to a halt every matchday. And as for evening games......


My only experience with the Millenium stadium was going with Reading supporting mates for the playoffs a few years ago. It took us 2 hours to get from the ground to the M4. Fucking nightmare.

I've never driven to Cardiff, as the millennium is right next to the mainline train which goes direct to Bath. A few beers then on the train when the rush has died down. My old boy always drives to Cardiff, I think he parks a little further out and takes a pretty indirect route - I think he might even hit the M4 as far out as Newport. He works in football and so he's been for a quite a few finals, so he knows all the back routes.

I wouldn't fancy trying to get a train straight after the game though - and I think that's what a lot of people are getting at, at least in Cardiff you can hang around the stadium for a bit. At Twickenham they keep the bars open after the game, so a few beers there and then on into London for the rest of the night. This isn't quite as easy at Wembley.

As for Reading, I've never had trouble getting home after games but then I'm heading the other way (westwards on M4). I've only got the train to the Madejski when seeing Bath/Irish so I couldn't really comment as the attendances rarely get above 1/3 full.

 

[Threshers_Flail]

The thing is with the Millennium is that, say Man Utd fans without a ticket could come down to Cardiff and watch and enjoy the game, this wouldn't happen as much in Wembley. More fans means that the atmosphere before and after the match would be much better, whereas in Wembley everyone would disperse around London or end up in some crappy bar, were the only drink you can have in a pint is bloody Carling. Wembley is better to look at, but with all the pubs in Cardiff town, and the close proximity to the pitch, the Millennium is better in my opinion.

 

[editor]

Don't forget to cast your vote here: http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=246495

 

[1927]

The thing is with the Millennium is that, say Man Utd fans without a ticket could come down to Cardiff and watch and enjoy the game, this wouldn't happen as much in Wembley. More fans means that the atmosphere before and after the match would be much better, whereas in Wembley everyone would disperse around London or end up in some crappy bar, were the only drink you can have in a pint is bloody Carling. Wembley is better to look at, but with all the pubs in Cardiff town, and the close proximity to the pitch, the Millennium is better in my opinion.

You have hit the nail on the ehad there. I was thinking that i would go to Wembley even without a ticket, but having been there on sunday I can't envisage where you could have the crack and soak up the atmosphere. Those without tickets will probably be better off in cardiff watching on the tv!

 

[1927]

oh no they didn't

Oh yes they did!