New Wembley stadium
Discussion
I haven't seen it in the flesh, but folks who have are telling me it will knock you dead when it opens (if?). They suggest that (despite the Times article last week) that they are controlling the press and TV because they know that when it is unveiled, hopefully for the cup final, it will be so impressive that we will be gobsmacked and that all the sniping critics will melt away, and they down want to spoil the thunder of the moment.
Anybody seen it? Is it likely to be worth the wait?
Anybody seen it? Is it likely to be worth the wait?
I've not seen it in person but have seen a lot of the recent images, it looks awesome.
Just to get an idea of the scale...
www.wembleystadium.com/brilliantfuture/photodiary/november2005/default.htm
Just to get an idea of the scale...
www.wembleystadium.com/brilliantfuture/photodiary/november2005/default.htm
The Arch was lit on Wednesday 6th July 2005 to celebrate the success of the London 2012 Olympic bid. View from Wembley Way.
A photograph of Wembley Stadium at dawn taken from Elvin House on the 13th May. This date marked one year to go before Stadium opening with the The FA Cup Final in 2006
npower (Official Supplier) asked that the Wembley Arch be lit on the 12 September 2005 to celebrate the England cricket team beating Australia in the Ashes
Topping Out ceremony on 1st September 2004 - Fireworks burst over the 133m high Wembley Stadium Arch to celebrate the Stadium reaching its full height and the start of England's World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign.
It has been lit quite a few times it appears.
A photograph of Wembley Stadium at dawn taken from Elvin House on the 13th May. This date marked one year to go before Stadium opening with the The FA Cup Final in 2006
npower (Official Supplier) asked that the Wembley Arch be lit on the 12 September 2005 to celebrate the England cricket team beating Australia in the Ashes
Topping Out ceremony on 1st September 2004 - Fireworks burst over the 133m high Wembley Stadium Arch to celebrate the Stadium reaching its full height and the start of England's World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign.
It has been lit quite a few times it appears.
Muncher said:
The walkway from Olympic Way (I think) hasn't even started yet and was due to take 5 months to complete. Some of the work at the tube stations was never due to be completed in time for the Cup Final either.
They might be building it on another part of the site or in sections off site,to be lifted into place.
Frik said:
From what I've seen, it'll certainly stop smug locals harping on about the Millenium Stadium.
Once it's finished of course...
Hope they finish it in time. I can't wait for the great unwashed to start using Wembley. I'm fed up with 72000 hooligans screwing up the roads, puking and screaming in the street and generally making a bigger shit tip out of Cardiff.
ZR1cliff said:
They might be building it on another part of the site or in sections off site,to be lifted into place.
New Wembley blow
NEW concerns emerged today over whether Wembley's new national stadium will be ready in time for this year's FA Cup final.
The stadium's contractors have raised fears that a dispute between Wembley National Stadium Ltd and the site's owners may have put the construction of a key walkway too far behind schedule.
Building work on the access point along the old Wembley Way was due to start in September, yet began only yesterday.
The construction schedule originally gave contractors Multiplex 20 weeks to build the walkway. However, the £757million Wembley project has long been geared to a March 31 deadline - which is just over 12 weeks away.
Handover
That was the date set for the handover of the completed stadium to the Football Association, in time to stage the final on May 13.
Wembley insisted today that the stadium would be ready in time for the FA Cup final. But even though the dispute between Wembley and Quintain has been resolved, Multiplex admitted that the walkway issue is a concern.
A Multiplex spokesman said last night: "We've had meetings over how we can accelerate what is a 20-week job, but there's only so much we can do over a problem that was nothing to do with us. It's causing us major concern."
A Quintain representative said: "All issues have been resolved to ensure Multiplex have sufficient time to complete the works before March 31."
A Wembley spokesman said: "Multiplex are still reassuring us that it is on track for handover on March 31, and it's our aim to open the stadium with the FA Cup final on May 13."
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Multiplex has forced Wembley's operators to the negotiating table over the £120,000 a day they had intended to charge in fees for lateness. The move is the first indication that delays in the construction project's completion will cost Wembley National Stadium Ltd.
Previously WNSL, a wholly owned Football Association subsidiary that will manage the stadium after its completion, had stated that the constructor Multiplex would bear all cost overruns on its £326.5m fixed-price contract. However, it emerged yesterday that WNSL had failed to meet an obligation to secure access to a key area of the site, prompting Multiplex to latch on to the operators' mistakes.
Article continues
A dispute between WNSL and the landowner Quintain Estates prevented Multiplex workers from beginning construction on the pedestrian walkway to the stadium, due to start last September, until this Tuesday. "There are ongoing discussions about when penal clauses should kick in," said an insider. "It's a fixed-price contract but doing accelerated-programme works costs money. If access to a site has been granted late, that becomes part of the negotiations." The penal clauses are designed to insulate Wembley and the FA from the effects of having an incomplete stadium when debt service begins on the £433m, 16-year senior loan to the consortium including Barclays, Lloyds and the German bank West LB. How a reduction in the penalty fees or schedule would affect Wembley's capacity to service the debt is unclear.
Though sources insist the Wembley negotiations are highly amicable, Multiplex is currently involved in litigation with its former steel supplier and sub-contractor Cleveland Bridge [CBUK] in an attempt to recover £18.3m it claims is owing in misrepresented valuation and breach of contract. CBUK has filed a counterclaim.
Both WNSL and Multiplex yesterday insisted they would work to ensure the stadium remains on course to be finished for the FA Cup final. However, in a statement, the constructor said: "There are risks associated with meeting that date. Following access to the pedway being granted by Quintain, Multiplex and WNSL are now looking at options to enable Wembley Stadium to be accessed from Wembley Way for the target handover date."
>> Edited by Muncher on Tuesday 10th January 18:46
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