The FA Cup Final: Building Wembley Stadium

Chelsea & Man City face off at the historic landmark.

On Saturday, the 16th of May, Manchester City and Chelsea will meet at the iconic Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup Final. Kicking off at 3 pm BST, Man City may be entering as the favourites, but that doesn’t mean that Chelsea are to be counted out just yet. 

Regardless, Wembley Stadium is the appropriate backdrop for such a moment and it got us thinking about the work that went into constructing such an impressive sporting backdrop. 

The Original Wembley Stadium 

The original Wembley Stadium was built back in the early 1920s, opening in 1923. Designed for the British Empire Exhibition, it cost roughly £750,000 to build and, upon completion, hosted the ‘White Horse’ FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham.

The building required 25,000 tons of concrete and over 600 tons of steel reinforcement rods. To prepare the site, it was also necessary to remove 250,000 tons of clay. The stadium was eventually closed in 2000 and demolished just a few years later. 

The New Wembley Stadium 

The new 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium was commissioned in 2002 and took 4 and a half years to complete, opening in 2007 after a brief delay. The stadium was built by Foster + Partners and Populous and cost just over £798 million. 

With a 7,000-tonne retractable roof and 25,000 tons of concrete, it’s no surprise that the building must be supported with 4,000 piles, which reach up to 35 meters beneath the ground, forming a firm foundation. Interestingly, the new pitch depth also sits 4 meters below the old Wembley Stadium’s, while the total area covered is twice as large as the original. Even the roof is four times higher!

So, when you’re watching the FA Cup final on Saturday, take a moment to think about the astonishing level of work that went into creating Wembley Stadium. With estimates of over 3,000 people working on the structure, it’s clear that the UK’s construction industry came out in full force to build something memorable.