Wembley work to begin next week

Work will begin next week on a new £750m (€1.2bn) national stadium at Wembley, it was announced today.

A news conference at the Football Association‘s headquarters in London announced that a deal had been signed and the demolition of the old stadium will begin with the new Wembley set to be open in 2006.

The stadium will be capable of hosting football, rugby league and – with some adjustments – athletics.

The announcement was made by FA chief executive Adam Crozier, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell and Sport England chairman Trevor Brooking.

Brooking said: “This is fantastic news for sport in this country. Wembley will be the best stadium in the world by a mile.

“Wembley is the most famous stadium brand name in the world. It’s arch will in time be as great a landmark as the Twin Towers.

“It is time to move on from a great past to an even greater future.”

Peter Bradley, Labour Member of Parliament for The Wreckin in the West Midlands, dismissed today’s announcement as a “bad day for football”.

Bradley, who has campaigned for the national stadium to be built in Birmingham, told PA Sport: “This is not a national stadium, it’s a stadium for London. It’s not a fans’ stadium, it’s a stadium for corporate fat cats.

“It’s not for football – it’s for business and it will price the genuine fans out of out national game.

“It’s a measure of the FA’s betrayal of the game that such a good day for Wembley is such a bad day for football.”