Legod Third Coming Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Cost of West Quay £185m. Cost of St Mary's £32m. Cost of Wembley should be basically West Quay + 3 x SMS = £281m (plus an arch). Actual cost of Wembley £750m+ Could you see where the money went?? I'm buggered if I could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Tender Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Cost of West Quay £185m. Cost of St Mary's £32m. Cost of Wembley should be basically West Quay + 3 x SMS = £281m (plus an arch). Actual cost of Wembley £750m+ Could you see where the money went?? I'm buggered if I could. Was Peter Storrie involved anywhere in the process? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Interesting comparison, and I did see one similarity on arriving in the stadium as the escalators would not have been out of place in a John Lewis store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey-deacons-left-nut Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I was thinking the same thing myself... I was pretty dissaponited with the place... imo, the Millenium stadium was a lot more impressive.. Wembley felt dark and dingy...which I guess is down to the small opening in the roof... I can see why they have problems with the pitch... Utter waste of £750m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notnowcato Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I think I can see how they are looking to re-coup the outlay... £8 for a shoite pie and a pint of pish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxstone Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I think I can see how they are looking to re-coup the outlay... £8 for a shoite pie and a pint of pish! Absolutely! It certainly was'nt invested in the "world class catering" F'Sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trousers Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 The catering has been crap from day one, and I'm talking about club wembley here. God knows what the rest of the stadium catering is like when the supposed posher tier is littered with second rate fast food outlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isla Wight Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I was thinking the same thing myself... I was pretty dissaponited with the place... imo, the Millenium stadium was a lot more impressive.. Wembley felt dark and dingy...which I guess is down to the small opening in the roof... I can see why they have problems with the pitch... Utter waste of £750m I agree totally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notnowcato Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 The catering has been crap from day one, and I'm talking about club wembley here. God knows what the rest of the stadium catering is like when the supposed posher tier is littered with second rate fast food outlets. To be fair the catering has improved... my pie was at least hot this time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legod Third Coming Posted 29 March, 2010 Author Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I've been to the old Wembley and the stadium quite a few times so I was very, very surprised to get there and find that with all that money, they still have a crumbling Home Depot on the site, didn't replace the bridge and haven't touched the Arena! Seriously, how the fecking hell can you spend nearly a BILLION pounds on a stadium that is frankly a cross between John-Lewis and St Mary's? Someone at the FA should be ashamed that clubs are going bust in the lower leagues while they presided over a stadium that costy conservatively £200m than it needed to, if not £500m. £200m, think what that could have done for grass roots football... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warsash saint Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 £750 million & the taps & hand driers in the toilets did not work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordswoodsaints Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I'm still in shock from being asked to pay £3.20 for a yorkie.....I thought i was imagining it as the air was so thin up where I was,I was so high up I passed two base camps and even my Sherpa turned back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandwichsaint Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I thought the stadium was pretty good, much better than I expected in some respects. The walk up from the tube on Olympic Way side was pretty cool, loads of food outlets that seemed to be in line with 'normal' prices. The turnstiles and searching were pretty standard and the escalators were cool - the seats, general lay out, and leg room was excellent. We were right at the very back of 540 and the view was much better than I imagined, could clearly see the whole game and I managed to call the hand ball for the penalty from where I was sat! PA was complete cack where we were but that's pretty much par for the course - concourses were pretty big but there did seem a limited number of loo spaces (whats with the cubicles?) but I didn't notice queueing to be any worse than usual. At the end of the game I got from the back row of 540 to street level in less time than it takes me to get from the back rows of blocks 35-36 out of SMS! (and no stupid footbridge to queue over!). Tubes back into London seemed to be well organised and I easily caught a train from St Pancras a full hour earlier than I had allowed for. I don't really care what the food in the corporates is like, and anybody who relies on the stadium for food etc can expect to be ripped-off - it's what they do! I paid £24 for my seat (same as I paid to sit in the rain at MK the week before) and I thought that was excellent value; programme was also very good for £5 too. All-in-all I was pleasantly surpised and I thought Wembley was 'fit for purpose'. Where did the money go? That's a whole new ball game - same place as all the money in this country has gone in the last 10 years - out of the pockets of ordinary people and into the pockets of the rich and the bent - HTH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebastian firefly Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 phew i thought it was just me underwhelmed anyhow nice to win something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I'd like to see a stadium of it's size and with it's facilities that is massively cheaper. As in, I think people are forgetting just how much work it actually takes to build a stadium like that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Cost to build - SMS £1,000 per seat, Wembley £8,333 per seat. I couldnt see where the extra money had gone. Wembley was 'fine' but for eight times the build price of SMS per seat it should be a lot more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legod Third Coming Posted 29 March, 2010 Author Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I'd like to see a stadium of it's size and with it's facilities that is massively cheaper. As in, I think people are forgetting just how much work it actually takes to build a stadium like that... Can I direct you to Meydan, the new Dubai racecourse, built for £123million? Now ok it is not a round stadium but even if it were it would have cost four times as much maximum. And that has floodlighting across two miles of track and a bloody cinema!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Bateman Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 How much did it cost to build the Emirates out of interest? Surely a better comparison? Wembley isn't as good as the Millenium stadium for sport, but it's great for concerts - I'd wager the FA make more money from concerts than from sporting events?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadgerBadger Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Why didn't they put a transparent roof on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goalie66 Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Cost of West Quay £185m. Cost of St Mary's £32m. Cost of Wembley should be basically West Quay + 3 x SMS = £281m (plus an arch). Actual cost of Wembley £750m+ Could you see where the money went?? I'm buggered if I could. I think they dug the foundations so deep that they thought they were drilling for oil, Steve. The pitch level must be at least 50 metres below ground level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey-deacons-left-nut Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Why didn't they put a transparent roof on? That's what I was thinking.... weird.. can't see how the grass grows properly with the small amount of light in there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goalie66 Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I'm still in shock from being asked to pay £3.20 for a yorkie.....I thought i was imagining it as the air was so thin up where I was,I was so high up I passed two base camps and even my Sherpa turned back. Naah I met Tensing..and he was gasping for breath !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goalie66 Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 That's what I was thinking.... weird.. can't see how the grass grows properly with the small amount of light in there.... Apparently they use ultra violet lamps so Wembley is in reality a bloody great sun parlor !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintkiptanui Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 The surrounding area was a dump, a barron wasteland of sh*t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joensuu Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 First time I've seen a stadium without huge queues for beer and food. Shame the provision of toilets was an afterthought Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint boggy Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Absolutely! It certainly was'nt invested in the "world class catering" F'Sure! 'kin right!.....went to get a drink at half-time.....they only had pints of lager!! .....no cider, no smirnoff ice ,NOTHING!! :mad:...not even half-pints of lager FFS! .i can't stand beer , so had to go without...... you would think they would've had more of a selection than THAT ,wouldn't you!! a world class stadium ,yes, but certainly not world-class catering! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scudamore Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I'd like to see a stadium of it's size and with it's facilities that is massively cheaper. As in, I think people are forgetting just how much work it actually takes to build a stadium like that... Emirates Stadium for £390m? There's no question that they took the p:ss with Wembley i'm afraid. They knew that someone would foot the bill. I thought thestadium was pretty impressive though myself. Getting a beer wasn't too traumatic and the seats had loads of room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huffton Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 They certainly didn't spend it io stewards. The rudest most unpleasant arrogant bastards I have ever come across at a football match. And as for the debacle of trying to get out of the stadium while the 'response teams' just stood there watching and chatting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legod Third Coming Posted 29 March, 2010 Author Share Posted 29 March, 2010 How much did it cost to build the Emirates out of interest? Surely a better comparison? Wembley isn't as good as the Millenium stadium for sport, but it's great for concerts - I'd wager the FA make more money from concerts than from sporting events?? Emirates costs £220m in construction and up to £390m to include a waste-recrylcing centre and relocating/statutory purchase of businesses around the stadium and the Olympic Stadium budget is £496m... So, still £300m-£400m less than Wembley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fowllyd Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Was Peter Storrie involved anywhere in the process? No, but Ken Bates was for a considerable time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I seem to remember that it cost £125 to buy the old stadium just to pull it down. Then there were all sorts of discussions over access rights and the land immediately around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ribbo Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 i don't see it as a football stadium, more of an arena with a football pitch on it. i can understand why it took a lot to build, considering there's an entire office complex below it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Fan CaM Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I was impressed with the stadium itself, although I do agree that at 8 times the per seat cost of SMS is extremely excessive. I was surprised not to be queuing to get through the turnstiles TBF. Took our own grub as I knew it would be rip-offsville in and around the stadium. When we went in our rucksack was 'searched' and we were told to empty a small bottle of Ribena into a cup - OK I thought, I could do some big damage with a small plastic Ribena bottle, but hey they're just doing their jobs. But then I was told to empty our flask of coffee into cups!!! I did as I was told, but then took the cups through the concourse and promptly re-filled the flask, so WTF was THAT all about?!?! Stupidity on a grand scale. The surrounding area is as others have mentioned a complete joke. It's a disgraceful advert for this countries infrastructure (you would never see that in Germany) and the road system approaching our biggest and most important sporting venue must have been designed by a complete f-ing numpty! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsland Codger Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Plenty of pros and cons. The only time I had been to Wembley before was to see Wales play the All Blacks (when Cardiff Arms Park was being morphed into the Millenium Stadium, Wales played their home games at Wembley). Apart from a complete lack of legroom (think Ryan Air economy), on leaving the old stadium streams of fans were merging at right angles to each other and the crush was unbelievable; an accident waiting to happen. 80,000 members of the Sisters of Mercy would have had trouble, let alone 80,000 football fans. So the new Wembley and her immediate outskirts appear safe with crowd control given priority. Inside the ground, lots of legroom and as someone said elsewhere a feeling of being both compact whilst still in a huge arena. From my own seat (Block 124 row 7) the view was great, if a little low down, and from reading the comments from others, the views were excellent from wherever. On the downside, clearly the money wasn't spent on the sound system which was a joke. The bogs could have been better and although I didn't buy anything inside the ground the queues for food & drink appeared to be poorly controlled when compared to the Millenium Stadium. Over the years I've been lucky enough to visit most of the other mega-stadia in/near the UK (Twickenham, Murrayfield, Millenium Stadium, Stade de France, Croke Park, Lord's) and each ground has its good points and bad. For ammenities, ease of access, public transport and general well-being of the paying public, Twickenham is the clear winner with Lord's being chaotic. Croke Park wins for atmosphere with the Welsh place a close second but Twickenham comes nowhere near. On balance I'd say Wembley is all right but appears to represent poor value for money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skintsaint Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 cost 121m for the milllleeeenium stadium...would rather have that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Uwe Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I know I'm biased living in Cardiff, but the Millenium Stadium is just a better sporting venue in every way, shape and form. It's the proximity to the city centre and the fact that there are numerous bars/pubs/general civilisation (!) near to the ground. Cardiff on a Six Nations day is just a terrific atmosphere, and the same applied when the footy finals were staged there. It creates a much better, fan-friendly atmosphere, and I think it's a genuine shame that the Wembley project went ahead. I have nothing against tradition at all, but sometimes change is a good thing. Unfortunately with Wembley you have a clogged up underground station which takes hours to get in and out of (from experience anyway going to watch England games) and there is nothing of any particular note nearby. It isn't bad by any means at all, but it's just not the legendary ground some would like you to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landford.saint Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Have to admit, I was totally underwhelmed. Toilets, very poor.... getting out, very poor stewarding leaving was non existant, and wrongly positioned fencing etc. generated bottlenecks and other problems. .... surrounding area, unfinished/unstarted/full of waste and rubble.... View, good...... Stewarding going in was friendly and helpful..... Acoustics, terrilble .... Cant comment on catering because I didn't bother... Got food before I went in, and had nice pub meal in Shepards Bush on way home. If I was an FA Official taking Clients there i would blind fold them until i got them into the stadium. However, What a really good day out I and my family had. The day was brilliant, despite all of the above. I suppose winning helps, would not have enjoyed a 350 mile trip home having lost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNSUN Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I was impressed by the sheer size of the place but little more than that. I snuck in past the security that were searching others. I could've had petrol in my water bottle, and I certainly had a lighter on me if I'd wanted to cause trouble. :-) Not that I would... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legod Third Coming Posted 29 March, 2010 Author Share Posted 29 March, 2010 I know I'm biased living in Cardiff, but the Millenium Stadium is just a better sporting venue in every way, shape and form. It's the proximity to the city centre and the fact that there are numerous bars/pubs/general civilisation (!) near to the ground. Cardiff on a Six Nations day is just a terrific atmosphere, and the same applied when the footy finals were staged there. It creates a much better, fan-friendly atmosphere, and I think it's a genuine shame that the Wembley project went ahead. I have nothing against tradition at all, but sometimes change is a good thing. Unfortunately with Wembley you have a clogged up underground station which takes hours to get in and out of (from experience anyway going to watch England games) and there is nothing of any particular note nearby. It isn't bad by any means at all, but it's just not the legendary ground some would like you to believe. I'm not biased. The Cardiff stadium is simply better than Wembley. Better atmosphere, better location, better all round. Plus, when you hear bread of heaven belted out there you cannot fail to be moved to tears or at least to welling up... the sound is truly awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Cannot say where money went but suggest a lot is down to the extra leg room per seat and the fact the seats were basically individual seats with gap in between each one, they were in front row of block 540 right above score board. also toilet facilities were superb. unlike some i think it is better that cardiff for leg room and space per seat. one thing is certain little of the money, if any, was spent on improving coach access route , what a tip, hope FIFA reps are not taken that route or we can forget world cup bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Block 5 Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Apparently the problems with the pitch at Wembley are due to incorrect stadium orientation that should have been taken into account in order to to maximize the amount of sunshine that the pitch is exposed to. This was a MAJOR design flaw and is supposed to be a bit of a secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonManager Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 This was a MAJOR design flaw and is supposed to be a bit of a secret. Until you blabbed!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 First time I've seen a stadium without huge queues for beer and food. Shame the provision of toilets was an afterthought My experience was the exact opposite. No queue for the urinals, plenty of wash basins (although distinct lack of hand-dryers). A good 20 minute queue for food and drink at half-time, not only causing me to miss the start of the second half but also Papa's goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70's Mike Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 My experience was the exact opposite. No queue for the urinals, plenty of wash basins (although distinct lack of hand-dryers). A good 20 minute queue for food and drink at half-time, not only causing me to miss the start of the second half but also Papa's goal. the hand dryers that did work were very powerful, made by youngest sons hands bright red for 5 mins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysaint Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Not keen thought it was hard to build up an atmosphere which seemed quite flat considering the numbers, the roof was too high preferred the old Wembley, the Emirates and Millenium Stadiums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aintforever Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 Good stadium but I agree, there is no way it should have cost what it did. It's one of those projects that like the Dome was always going to go over budget, too many people on the take who are accountable to no one. When you give organisations like the FA, who are riddled with politics, a blank cheque money just disapears everywhere. I know someone who was subcontracted, he said they could basically make up what they could get paid. The Olympics will be a similar disaster with politicians and commitees making decisions they shouldn't be let a million miles near. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jam Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 The problem with Wembley is that they didn't decide what they would do and then stick to it. new people kept coming along and the plans kept changing. That's what makes things go overbudget. The fact that whoever was in charge always knew that the government couldn't let it fail meant that there was no pressure to make sure things didn't spiral. Unlike the Emirates, which was cheaper and built quicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iowsaintsfan Posted 29 March, 2010 Share Posted 29 March, 2010 cost 121m for the milllleeeenium stadium...would rather have that? Gladly though was still nice just for the money no thanks should have been a 200k seater for that costing!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Uwe Posted 30 March, 2010 Share Posted 30 March, 2010 I'm not biased. The Cardiff stadium is simply better than Wembley. Better atmosphere, better location, better all round. Plus, when you hear bread of heaven belted out there you cannot fail to be moved to tears or at least to welling up... the sound is truly awesome. Trouble is I'm always a diplomat me! Yeah can't argue with that. The passion that the Welsh have for rugby especially when the Six Nations is on is something else IMHO, the place is absolutely rocking when the big boys come to town. And you did get a similar atmosphere when the footy finals were there. I'll never forget the sea of yellow under the roof in '03, it was just majestic. Still, I doubt any major footy will be back here for a while so I'll just have to wind me neck in and stop whinging!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissyboy31 Posted 30 March, 2010 Share Posted 30 March, 2010 I doubt any major footy will be back here for a while so I'll just have to wind me neck in and stop whinging!! Wasn't it reported that next season's play-off finals were going to be in Cardiff due to the Champions League final being at Wembley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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