The old Wembley Arena was first used in 1923 and had a track record for having one of the most admired pitches in the UK. Its wide open spaces would drain the power from the legs of even the fittest players. When the Empire Stadium finally shut its doors in 2000, the superb pitch was torn up along with the entire stadium.
The nation had to wait 7 more years until the new Wembley Stadium opened its doors. The new 90,000 seater stadium was classed by UEFA as a 5* Elite Arena and is the second largest in Europe after the Camp Nou in Barcelona. The first full international took place versus Brazil on 1st June 2007.
The construction of the arena was late and well over budget and the troubles did not stop there. Operational difficulties like the faulty escalators on match days were encountered but there is an on-going issue that to date has not be sufficiently resolved – the pitch.
Pitches at brand new stadia normally take time to settle down but at Wembley the pitch is a problem and is most definitely one of the worst around. It cuts up far too easily and players lose their footing too often. In a recent FA Cup semi final, at least one of the goals was because of a defender slipping at a crucial moment as the playing surface gave way. By the conclusion of the 2009/2010 season, the grass had been relaid 10 times at an expense of a million pounds and the stadium had not even been in operation for 3 years.
The truth is, relaying the pitch every 3 months is not actually the best solution. The layout of the arena prevents the natural conditions of light and wind can’t get to the pitch to inspire the grass to grow. A few stadiums such as the one in Gelsenkirchen in Germany is on rollers so in between matches, the complete pitch is transferred outside the stadium. Other stadiums have sufficient ventilation in the stands allowing the wind to flow and it is possible to use artificial lights to assist the grass to develop.
Regretably, there are still complications and a fix must be worked out. In September 2010, England launch their qualification for Euro 2012 and they are without question the top team in their group. The one thing England do not need, is the other team aided by a poor quality Wembley playing surface. The games at Wembley are intended to give England home advantage.
Tags: euro 2012, euro 2012 poland, uefa euro 2012, Ukraine euro 2012