The old Wembley Arena was first used in 1923 and had a track record for offering one of the finest pitches in the UK. Its wide open spaces would drain the power from the legs of even the fittest players. Once the Empire Stadium finally closed its doors in 2000, the impressive pitch was torn up along with the entire arena.
England supporters had to wait 7 more years before 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 biggest in Europe after the Nou Camp in Barcelona. The first full international took place against Brazil on 1st June 2007.
The development of the arena was overdue and significantly over budget but the concerns did not conclude there. Operational difficulties like the defective escalators on match days were encountered, but there is a continuing challenge that thus far has not be sufficiently resolved - the pitch.
Playing surfaces at brand new stadia normally require adequate time to bed down but at Wembley the playing surface is a predicament and is 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 put down to a defender slipping at a critical moment as the pitch gave way. By the end of the 2009/2010 season, the pitch had been relaid 10 times at an expense of 1m and the arena hadn't even been in operation for 3 years.
Yet, relaying the playing surface every 3 months is just not the way around the problem. The layout of the stadium is the reason why the natural conditions of light and wind can't get to the pitch to boost the pitch to grow. A handful of stadiums such as the one in Gelsenkirchen in Germany is on rollers so between matches, the full pitch is moved outside the arena. Most other stadiums have sufficient air flow in the stands allowing the wind to move around, and it is possible to use artificial lights to encourage the pitch to develop.
However, there are still complications and a solution really ought to be worked out. In September 2010, England start their qualification for Euro 2012 and they are without question the best team in their group. The one thing England do not need, is the other team aided by a poor quality Wembley pitch. The games at Wembley are supposed to give England home advantage.
More Information:
After the FIFA World Cup, the European Championships are the 2nd most important tournament in the world.
Euro 2012 will be jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
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