For an excellent overview of who plays where in London, go to Footiemap.com to view their comprehensive map page for the city.
Wembley National Stadium
Capacity: 90,000 All Seater
The hype is finally over. After 6 ½ years, the New Wembley Stadium finally opened its doors to the paying public in March 2007. Despite years of delays, escalating budgets and enough rumours to fill an edition of a Sunday tabloid, the FA took control of the stadium on the 16th March 2007, and promptly set about arranging the necessary warm up events so that the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United on the 19th May 2007 could be hosted.
The original stadium – the Empire Stadium opened on the 28th April 1923 for the FA Cup Final between West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers when an estimated 200,000 fans squeezed in the 125,000 capacity stadium after building was finished at the last minute by Sir Robert McAlpine. The following year the stadium hosted its first international as England drew 1-1 with Scotland.
In those days the stadium was an oval bowl, with a running track around the outside, and two roofs that ran half way along each side. The stadium continued to host the FA Cup final, as well as international matches through out the Second World War – including a crowd of over 80,000 for a game against Scotland when air raids over London were a daily occurrence.
In 1948 the stadium was the host of the Summer Olympic Games – having originally been chosen to host the 1944 games. In 1951 possibly the most remarkable games in its short history took place between Pegasus and Bishop Auckland in the FA Amateur Cup Final. What made this so unique was that the crowd was 100,000! I can’t see that happening today for the FA Vase final some how – but such was the love of the English public for both football, and the stadium itself. In the 1950’s one of the biggest attended events at the stadium was Speedway, which despite being held on a regular basis since 1929, was now attracting crowds of over 120,000. Speedway continued at the stadium until the early 1980’s when a decision was made to stop after crowds dwindled.
The same is true of Greyhound racing. This started at the stadium in 1924 and was a very popular venue, with races being held 5 days a week at its peak. Attendances declined to such a point that during the 1980’s average attendances were less than 50, and a decision was made in 1988 to cease the events.
In terms of major events though, one football match will continue to dominate the history of the stadium. In 1966 England hosted the World Cup, and through a “carefully” planned draw, the stadium hosted all of their games. Without ever kicking into top gear, the team got to the World Cup Final, where in front of an estimated 40 million TV viewers, and over 100,000 paying spectators the team beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time to win their one and only World Cup Final.
Other big games held at the stadium include the European Cup Finals of 1968, when Manchester United beat Benfica, 1977 when Liverpool beat Brugge and 1992 when Barcelona beat Sampdoria. It also hosted the 1965 and 1993 European Cup Winners Cup. In 1998 and 1999 Arsenal also chose to move their Champions League games to the stadium, although the crowds didn’t exactly warm to the venue. The last major match played at the stadium was in October 2001 when Germany’s 1-0 win over England forced the hand of Kevin Keegan to resign as national manager.
The stadium has also hosted a number of sports including Rugby League’s Challenge Cup Final, Rugby Union Internationals (Wales used it as a base whilst the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was being built), Show jumping, WWF Wrestling (80,000 watched this here in 1992) and of course the infamous London Monarchs American Football team who played in front of crowds of three figures on occasions in the late 1980’s. Sell out concerts have also taken place here – probably the most famous being Live Aid in 1995.
So what is it like today? The famous white Twin Towers have been replaced by a massive arch which is visible for over 20 miles away. Leg room and sightlines are built on the highest specification. Concourse facilities are plentiful and spacious. All of these features are perhaps expected for the £798million it cost the FA – thus making it the most expensive stadium constructed in the world today.
Who plays there? The stadium has been built as a monument to English Football, and will be the home venue for all future England Senior home matches for the next twenty years. The stadium will also host the major domestic finals, which including the Play Offs will number more than 10 per season. As of 2008, the stadium will also host the FA Cup Semi-Finals. The stadium will also host major concerts – such as George Michael and Muse in June 2007 as well as other events such as a regular season American Football game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins in October 2007.
How to get there One of the main considerations in the construction of the stadium was the plentiful access via public transport. Within a 10 minute walk of the stadium there are three stations which will carry the vast majority of fans. Wembley Park Tube station is on the Jubilee and Metropolitan tube lines. This station allows for a journey from central London (Bond Street) in around 25 minutes or from London Bridge in 35 minutes. The station is a 10 minute walk away up the historic Wembley Way.
Wembley Central Station is on the Bakerloo tube line as well as the Silverlink train line. The over ground train service links Wembley to London Euston in around 15 minutes. The station is a 15 minute walk away from the stadium. Wembley Stadium Station is located just behind the stadium, and has an access ramp direct onto the outer concourse. It is served on the Chiltern mainline link from London Marylebone.
The stadium is in travel zone 4, meaning a single ticket currently from zone 1 would be £4. A Daily travel card covering this zone would be £5.70 off peak for adults and £1 for children. National Express will also run dedicated coaches from over 20 places around the country to Wembley for major events.
Finally, if you do intend to drive there, then there are no public car parks within a 15 minute walk from the stadium. The best option is to head to tube stations such as Stanmore where there is secure car parking.
For an excellent overview of who plays where in London, go to Footiemap.com to access their comprehensive map page for the city.
Getting a ticket Ticket availability will depend on the event being staged. For the majority of England home internationals, tickets will be sold initially to the EnglandFans club members, and then to the general public. Where the stadium feel demand will outstrip supply, they may instigate a ballot system for the tickets, such as that used for England v Brazil in June 2007. In this instance check details on http://www.thefa.com. Ticket prices for England internationals will range from £25 in the family section in the lower tiers to £60 in the middle tier.
Ticketing arrangements for the major finals will be handled by the clubs concerned, and so you should check with them on availability – in general you will not have a problem getting a ticket for finals such as the Johnstone’s Paint, FA Trophy or the lower league play off finals.All other ticketing will be handled by either Ticketmaster – http://www.ticketmaster.com or by See Tickets – http://www.seetickets.com.
THE EMIRATES STADIUM
CAPACITY: 60, 424 All Seater
Having played at the cramped Highbury since 1913, the move to the new Emirates stadium has not yet overwhelmed the club. Many of the fans never wanted to see the club move out of the historic stadium – loving the atmosphere, cramped stands and the iconic buildings. However, the new stadium is certainly an impressive structure. Built in just 2 years and at a cost of £390million – half the price of Wembley Stadium. The stadium was built by HOK who also built Sydney’s Stadium Australia. So what makes the stadium so special? It has certainly been built for comfort with padded seats in most of the upper tier, lots of leg room and two huge screens that relay action from the pitch. The playing surface itself is perfect – even 9 months into the season it still looks as if it has never been played on.
The roof undulates from corner to corner – supposedly designed to reflect the waves on the Arabian Sea, although it does obstruct the view of the screens in some places. The middle tier of the stadium is designated as the Platinum area with some of the best hospitality features in the world. From the inside, the stadium looks and feels almost identical to Benfica’s Stadium of Light.
Since the team has moved into the stadium, average attendances have been impressive with an average attendance of 60,043, a 57% rise on previous years at Highbury. The old stadium at Highbury is slowly being converted into some exclusive flats – the East and West stand were listed buildings and they are being used as a shell for the new apartments, with the pitch acting as a communal garden.
Who plays there? The Emirates has in a short period of time become a favourite with the Arsenal players, having lost just once since moving to the new stadium last year. The stadium is the third real home for Arsenal, having started off life in the late 19th century as Dial Square, and then Woolwich Arsenal south of the River Thames. The club were invited to migrate north in 1913 as part of their move into the newly established Football League First Division. Since that day the club have never been relegated from the top tier of English football. It would be another twenty years before the club gained their first honour though. In 1925 Herbert Chapman took over as manager of the club, and over the next few years built a formidable team that delivered four titles in five years as well as two FA Cup Finals victories – making them the most successful team in England. Unfortunately Chapman died in the mid-1930’s and after the final cup victory in 1936 it would be a further ten years before honours returned when they won the FA Cup again in 1950. The league title was captured again in 1953 but this to be the last honour the club won for nearly twenty years. At the end of the 1960’s, Bertie Mee was appointed manager and he took the club to victory in the Fairs Cup (the forerunner to the UEFA Cup) in 1970 when the team beat Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate. The following season the club captured the first domestic double of the 20th century when they beat Liverpool 2-1 in extra time. The late 1970’s proved to be a poor time to be an Arsenal fan as the team under Terry Neil lost three major cup finals in less than 2 years. They lost two FA Cup Finals to Ipswich Town and West Ham United as well as the European Cup Winners Cup Final to Valencia on penalties, although they did snatch a last minute winner in the 1979 Cup Final against Manchester United. The team was characterised by a number of home grown players including the Irish duo David O’Leary and Liam Brady, Graham Rix and Alan Sunderland.
George Graham returned to the club as manager in 1985, and he revolutionised the club’s approach to youth development as well as building a team based on defensive principals. He delivered his first trophy in 1987 when a Charlie Nicholas double delivered the Littlewoods Cup Final, and two years later the team, lead by Tony Adams, won the First Division title with the last kick of the season at Anfield on goal difference from Liverpool.
Two years later with the formidable team including Ian Wright, Alan Smith, Paul Merson and the solid defensive unit of Bould, Adams, Dixon and Winterburn strode to the title again. The team seemed unbeatable but the club were soon hit by scandals as first Merson and then Adams had to overcome public battles against Alcoholism, and then Graham was sensationally sacked for taking illegal payments. Arsene Wenger arrived at the club in late 1997, and soon put his mark on the club, changing the fitness regime and introducing a policy of scouring Europe for some of the best young talent. Imports included Thierry Henry, Patrick Vierra and Nicolas Anelka. Less than twelve months later the team won the double again, conceding just 16 goals all season. Unfortunately, the club couldn’t transfer the form into Europe despite reaching the UEFA Cup final the team lost to Galatasaray on penalties in Copenhagen.
In 2002 the club won the double again, with Henry providing the inspiration behind the team. The final against Chelsea was one of the club’s finest performances. Two years later the club managed a feat no other team has managed in the Premiership as they went through the whole season without losing a game on the way to capturing their last Premiership title.The club’s last honour was the 2005 FA Cup Final victory on penalties over Manchester United, although they did reach the Champions League final in Paris against Barcelona in May 2006. Unfortunately an early sending off of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann set the tone for the game and they lost 2-1. This season the club have not been able to compete on the field with the power of Chelsea and Manchester United, although it is clear that the ongoing policy of recruiting the best young players in Europe will again bring success as players such as Fabregas and Flamini bed into the team.
How to get there Getting to Emirates Stadium is simple. Public transport will take you within a few minutes walk of the ground and clear signs direct you from the stations and bus stops. The stadium has a colour coding system to signify different areas.
Arsenal (Piccadilly Line) is the nearest tube station, around three minutes walk from the ground. Finsbury Park (Victoria, Piccadilly Lines and Great Northern rail) and Highbury & Islington (Victoria Line, North London Line and Great Northern rail) stations are around a 10-minute walk - these are normally less crowded on a matchday. Holloway Road station will be exit-only before and after matches with pre match eastbound trains non-stopping.
If you are arriving by Bus, then the main bus stops are located on Holloway Road, Nag's Head, Seven Sisters Road, Blackstock Road and Highbury Corner. Frequent services will take you within a five to 10 minute walk of the ground.
For an excellent overview of who plays where in London, go to Footiemap.com to access their comprehensive map page for the city.
Getting a ticket The Emirates Stadium operates an automated access control system - similar to the system used at Upton Park and the City of Manchester Stadium. Everyone who purchases tickets for a game will be issued with a card. The bad news is that demand still exceeds supply for all matched.
Tickets go on sale to Priority (Silver) Members two months prior to each home match, except up games. Any remaining tickets will go on sale to (Red) Members one calendar month prior to each fixture. If any tickets are left for general sale they will be advertised at Arsenal.com or the Recorded Telephone Information Line on 020 7704 4242.
Match ticket pricing at Emirates Stadium is based on the principle of an A and B grading. A games include Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United. All remaining Premier League games will be Category B. The majority of FA Cup, UEFA Competitions and Carling Cup will be Category B fixtures. However, there will be some specific matches which will be designated as Category A fixtures. Ticket prices range from £94 for a Catagory A game in the posh seats, to £32 behind the goals. A good seat for the neutral is in the lower tier corners which ranges from £32 to £46 depending on the opponents.
STAMFORD BRIDGE
CAPACITY: 40,445 All Seater
If you have been living in a television free world for the past ten years you would not recognise Stamford Bridge today. The ground was dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century prior to the Abramovich era – although the credit for revolutionising the club will always be credited to his Russian Roubles. The stadium was for many years a massive wide open ground, with the old stands set back from the pitch and a wide do track separating the fans from the pitch.
The stadium does hold the record for an attendance outside of a major cup final in the UK when in 1945 a friendly against Dynamo Moscow attracted a crowd of over 100,000. The stadium also hosted the final three pre-Wembley FA Cup finals between 1920 and 1922.
In 1973 ambitious plans were drawn up to revolutionise the ground. The new East Stand, whilst one of the most impressive structures in British football when it opened almost bankrupted the club and further developments were put immediately on hold. In 1982 Ken Bates bought the club for £1, but despite constant offers, could not buy the stadium. The company who owned the stadium went bankrupt in the late 1980’s allowing Bates to take over the ground and begin the development work.
This started with an investment from Matthew Harding, who had recently joined the board. A multi-millionaire in his own right, Harding clashed with Bates on a number of issues but tragically died in a helicopter crash in 1996 just before the first stand (the North stand) opened. This was subsequently named after Harding. The Shed End was next to be developed, with the final part being completed in the early part of this century to take the stadium to the shape it is now.
So does the stadium befit the mega rich club today? The stadium is certainly atmospheric with the stands hugging the touchline, and views are good from all stands. However, there is simply no room to expand the stadium any further due to the proximity of the local housing. The average attendance at the ground is just over 41,500.
Who plays there? The stadium is home to one of Europe’s richest clubs, Chelsea FC. Whilst their current situation as one of the elite clubs in Europe is undeniable, their history pre-Roman Abramovich is certainly less impressive.
They were originally formed as a pub team in 1905, initially taking the name the Rising Sun (after the pub of the same name located opposite the stadium). Their early history was less than impressive, with a single FA Cup final appearance in 1915 to show for their efforts before the Second World War. Under the leadership of Arsenal legend Ted Drake in the 1950’s the club at last won their first major trophy – the 1955 Championship. In the early part of the 1960’s Tommy Docherty took over the reigns, and he nearly took them to an unprecedented treble in 1965 when they were within minutes of taking the league and the FA Cup to add to the League trophy they had already won. In the early 1970’s the club beat Leeds United in a replay to win the FA Cup, and the following year claiming European success, beating Athletico Madrid in a replay in Athens in the European Cup Winners Cup Final.
The remainder of the 1970’s and most of the 1980’s were simply horrible for the club’s fans – hooliganism was a major concern at all matches, and the club spent many seasons in the 2nd tier of English football – despite having classy players such as Kerry Dixon, Pat Nevin and of course legendary centre-back Mickey Droy. The change in fortunes for the club came when Chairman Ken Bates managed to pull a real coup in securing the services of Ruud Gullit as player-manager. Over the course of the next few years Gullit brought in true world class stars such as Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo, Perluighi Casseraghi and Gianluca Vialli. In the space of the next five seasons the club won more honours than they had done in the previous 100 years. The team won the 1997 FA Cup, and then the following season after Vialli took over from Gullit they won the League Cup and a Zola inspired European Cup Winners Cup.
In 2002 Vialli fell out with Bates and he was replaced with Italian Claudio Ranieri. He was responsible for winning the last ever FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium when they beat Aston Villa, as well as guiding the club to the promised land of the Champions League. Despite another successful campaign in 2004, Ranieri was sacked by the newly self-appointed owner Abramovich and was replaced by Porto manager José Mourinho who had just won the Champions League in Gelsenkirchen.
And so the ride to the top of the tree started. In 2005 they broke all records in becoming Premier League Champions as well as winning the League Cup. The only disappointment was losing in the Champions League semi-finals. The cheque book of Abramovich was opened and players such as Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba and Joe Cole joined the team over the next few years as a further Premiership title was added in 2006
This season they set out with an objective of winning everything. The first part was delivered in March 2007 when Chelsea beat Arsenal in the Carling Cup Final. Going into the final weeks of the season the club were fighting it out with Manchester United for their third consecutive title, as well as lining up against each other in New Wembley’s first FA Cup Final. The real disappointment though was a third successive failure in the Champions League when they lost on penalties to Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final.
How to get there The stadium is located in the south west of London, around 5 miles from the centre of the city. The area is one of the most affluent in London. The easiest way to reach the stadium is by Tube. The nearest station is Fulham Broadway which is on the District Line – Wimbledon branch. West Brompton station is also close enough to be walkable, and this is served both by the District Line and by trains that run regularly from Clapham Junction to Watford Junction.
The stadium is in Travel Zone 2 – meaning that a single ticket from anywhere in Zone 1 is £4 single. A Daily travel card is the better option – this would only cost £5.10 off peak.
Driving is not a viable option as there is almost no public parking close to the stadium, and even if you do find a place, expect to pay over £10 for the privilege whilst you watch the game. The exception is on a Sunday when restrictions are lifted.
For an excellent overview of who plays where in London, go to Footiemap.com to view their comprehensive map page for the city.
Getting a ticket Unsuprisingly, getting a ticket to watch Chelsea play is not a cheap day out. It is also not easy, and the days of simply turning up at the ticket office to buy a seat have long gone. Despite this, tickets are available for most games for the general public – you just need a degree to work out when and where you can apply. We have tried to summarise the procedure that has been set for next season below.
Ticket prices start from £50 for a non member in the Matthew Harding Lower stand, rising to £65 for a seat in the West Stand Lower tier. Most seats are fine for the neutral in the new sanitised Stamford Bridge. For Champions League matches, ticket prices are reduced by £5 across the board. For other cup games ticket prices start from £20.
Tickets will be sold via the Telephone on 0870 300 2322, from the website http://www.chelseafc.com or by personal callers to the box office at the stadium. Tickets for Premiership games on sale 28 days prior to the match to members only. General sale starts, if tickets are available, 1 week before the game. For tickets purchased at the stadium, there is a £5 premium per adult ticket (to discourage touts officially, unofficially you can guess) and you cannot pay by cash. Tickets purchased by other methods (phone or internet) attract the usual admin fee of £1.50 per ticket.
Chelsea are also part of the Viagogo Ticket Exchange programme, which is accessible from the main website. This allows ticket holders to sell tickets back to the club, who then resell them onto the general public.
To get to Wembley Stadium from the airport, catch the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then catch the tube to Marylebone on the Bakerloo line where you can then get the train direct to Wembley Stadium. Total journey time should be less than an hour.
The following other airports are also located close to London
Located around 30 miles north east of London, Stansted is the hub for most budget airlines. To reach Wembley, take the Stansted Express to Liverpool Street station, then change onto the Circle/Metropolitan line for Baker Street, and then again onto the Jubilee line. Journey time is around 90 minutes.
The airport is located 30 miles north of London, close to the M1 motorway. It is easily accessible by train, with a shuttle bus taking passengers from the airport to Luton Parkway station. Most trains will stop at West Hampstead, where you can change onto the Jubilee line for 5 stops north to Wembley Park – total journey time is 40 minutes.
The airport is located around 30 miles south of London, close to the M23 and M25 motorways. It has its own railway station that runs north through central London on the same line as Luton Airport’s – and so the easiest way to reach Wembley is to catch a train north, alighting at West Hampstead and then jumping on the Jubilee Line. The journey time should be around 90 minutes.
The hype is finally over. After 6 ½ years, the New Wembley Stadium finally opened its doors to the paying public in March 2007. Despite years of delays, escalating budgets and enough rumours to fill an edition of a Sunday tabloid, the FA took control of the stadium on the 16th March 2007, and promptly set about arranging the necessary warm up events so that the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United on the 19th May 2007 could be hosted.
Having played at the cramped Highbury since 1913, the move to the new Emirates stadium has not yet overwhelmed the club. Many of the fans never wanted to see the club move out of the historic stadium – loving the atmosphere, cramped stands and the iconic buildings. However, the new stadium is certainly an impressive structure. Built in just 2 years and at a cost of £390million – half the price of Wembley Stadium. The stadium was built by HOK who also built Sydney’s Stadium Australia. So what makes the stadium so special? It has certainly been built for comfort with padded seats in most of the upper tier, lots of leg room and two huge screens that relay action from the pitch. The playing surface itself is perfect – even 9 months into the season it still looks as if it has never been played on.