The old Wembley Stadium was opened in 1923 and had a reputable name for maintaining one of the finest pitches in England. Its wide open spaces would drain the power from the legs of even the fittest players. Once the Empire Stadium at long last shut its doors in 2000, the superb pitch was torn up along with the entire arena.
England fans had to wait 7 long years until finally the new Wembley Stadium opened its doors. The new 90,000 seater stadium was classified by UEFA as a 5* Elite Stadium and is the second largest in Europe after the Camp Nou in Barcelona. The initial full international was against Brazil on 1st June 2007.
The development of the arena was overdue and massively over budget yet the difficulties didn’t conclude there. Operational difficulties such as defective escalators on match days were encountered but there is a continuing issue that until now has not be adequately sorted out – the pitch.
Playing surfaces at new stadia in general require some time to settle down but at Wembley the playing surface is an issue and is certainly one of the worst around. It cuts up far too easily and players slip over too often. In a recent FA Cup semi final, at least one of the goals was due to a defender slipping at a vital point as the playing surface gave way. By the end of the 2009/2010 season, the playing surface had been relaid 10 times at a price of a million pounds and the stadium hadn’t even been up and running for 3 years.
All the same, relaying the pitch every 3 months isn’t the best solution. The design of the arena prevents the natural conditions of light and wind can’t get to the playing surface to help the playing surface to grow. Some stadiums including the one in Gelsenkirchen in Germany is on rollers so in between games, the whole playing surface is shifted out of the stadium. Other stadia have plenty of air flow in the stands to permit the air to flow and it is possible to use artificial lights to help the pitch to grow.
However, there are still difficulties and a solution has to be worked out. In September 2010, England start off their qualification for Euro 2012 and they are certainly the top team in their group. The one thing England really don’t need, is the other team served by a poor quality Wembley pitch. The games at Wembley are supposed to give England home advantage.
Tags: euro 2012, euro 2012 poland, uefa euro 2012, Ukraine euro 2012