Wembley Stadium

Wembley Stadium stands in Wembley, London, on the site of the original stadium built in 1923. It is England’s national football ground and hosts most of the national team’s home matches. The stadium also stages the FA Cup Final, the season-opening FA Community Shield and finals of lower-tier cup competitions. With 90,000 seats it is the largest stadium in the United Kingdom and the second-largest in Europe. The Football Association owns the ground through its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Ltd. The stadium is famous for its 134-metre-high arch, which supports most of the roof load. Designed by Foster + Partners and Populous, the bowl-shaped arena has a sliding roof over the east and west stands. It has hosted Champions League finals, UEFA European Championship matches and the 2012 Olympic football finals. The ground also stages rugby league’s Challenge Cup finals and NFL London Games. Visitors enter a vast bowl of steeply tiered seating arranged around the pitch. The arch dominates views from outside and inside the stadium. Two partially retractable roof sections can be opened to let in sunlight. The stadium’s lower tier is set below ground level, giving the bowl a sunken appearance. Concourses and corporate areas run around the top of the seating tiers.