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Location Information:
Wembley Stadium, to differentiate it
from the former stadium on the same
site) is a football stadium located
in Wembley Park, northwest London,
UK, which opened in 2007 on the site
of the previous 1923 structure. The
90,000 capacity venue is the second
largest stadium in Europe, and
serves as England's national
stadium. It is the home venue of the
England national football team, and
hosts the latter stages of the top
level domestic club cup competition,
the FA Cup. It held UEFA five-star
stadium status which was superseded
by a new system of classification.
It is owned by English football's
governing body, the Football
Association (The FA) through their
subsidiary Wembley National Stadium
Ltd (WNSL). The old Wembley stadium,
which opened in 1923 as the Empire
Stadium, often referred to as "The
Home of Football", was one of the
world's most famous football
stadiums until its demolition in
2003.
Designed by Foster and Partners and
Populous, it includes a partially
retractable roof. A signature
feature of the stadium, following on
from the old Wembley's distinctive
Twin Towers, is the 134 metres (440
ft) high Wembley Arch. With a span
of 317 metres (1,040 ft), this steel
arch is the longest single span roof
structure in the world. The stadium
was built by Australian firm
Multiplex at a cost of £798 million.
The old Wembley closed in October
2000, with demolition originally
intended for that December and the
new stadium due to open in 2003.
After delays to the project, the old
Wembley was not completely
demolished until 2003, with the new
stadium scheduled to open in time
for the 2006 FA Cup Final. After
further delays, the stadium was
delivered nearly a year late,
leading to legal disputes between
WNSL and Multiplex, who ultimately
made a significant loss on the
project. The stadium was handed over
on 9 March 2007, in time to host the
2007 FA Cup Final.
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