Old Trafford
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Old Trafford is an all-seater football stadium in the Trafford borough of Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Premier League club Manchester United. With space for 76,212 spectators, Old Trafford has the second-largest capacity of any English football stadium after Wembley Stadium, the third-largest of any stadium in the United Kingdom, and the eleventh-largest in Europe. It is one of two stadia in the country to have been given a five-star rating by UEFA. The stadium is approximately 0.5 miles (0.8 km) from Old Trafford Cricket Ground and the adjacent Manchester Metrolink tram station.
The ground, given the nickname the Theatre of Dreams by Bobby Charlton, has been United’s permanent residence since 1910, with the exception of an eight-year absence from 1941 to 1949, following the bombing of the stadium in the Second World War. During this period, the club shared Maine Road with local rivals, Manchester City. The ground underwent several expansions in the 1990s and 2000s, most notably the addition of extra tiers to the North, West and East stands which served to return the ground almost to its original capacity of 80,000. Future expansion is likely to involve the addition of a second tier to the South Stand, which would raise the capacity to over 90,000. The stadium’s current record attendance was recorded in 1939, when 76,962 spectators watched the FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town.
Future
United continue to harbour plans to increase the capacity of the stadium further, with the next stage pointing to a redevelopment of the South Stand, which, unlike the rest of the stadium, remains single tier. A replication of the North Stand development and North-East and -West Quadrants would see the stadium’s capacity rise to an estimated 95,000, which would give it a greater capacity than Wembley Stadium. Any such development is likely to cost around £100m, due to the proximity of the railway line that runs adjacent to the stadium, and the corresponding need to build over it and thus purchase up to 50 houses on the other side of the railway. Nevertheless, the Manchester United group property manager confirmed that expansion plans are in the pipeline - linked to profits made from the club’s property holdings around Manchester - saying “There is a strategic plan for the stadium… It is not our intention to stand still”. One criticism of the plans, however, is that increasing the height of the South Stand would further reduce the amount of light coming onto the pitch, which has caused problems in similarly large stadia – such as Wembley Stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and the San Siro; according to Alex Ferguson, the developments on the other stands have already caused problems.
It has been suggested that, should such an expansion take place, Old Trafford could be used instead of Wembley for big matches such as England internationals - in order to increase the ability of fans in the north of the country to watch England play – and FA Cup semi-finals - to maintain the prestige of the national stadium for the final.
Old Trafford Records
The highest attendance recorded at Old Trafford was 76,962 for an FA Cup semi-final between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Grimsby Town on 25 March 1939. However, this was before the ground was converted to an all-seater stadium, allowing many more people to fit into the stadium. Old Trafford’s record attendance as an all-seater stadium currently stands at 76,098, set at a Premier League game between Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers on 31 March 2007. This is also the Premier League’s record attendance. Old Trafford’s record attendance for a non-competitive game is 73,738, set on 1 August 2007 for a pre-season friendly between Manchester United and Internazionale. The lowest recorded attendance at a competitive game at Old Trafford in the post-War era was 11,968, as United beat Fulham 3–0 on 29 April 1950. However, on 7 May 1921, the ground hosted a Second Division match between Stockport County and Leicester City for which the official attendance was just 13. This figure is slightly misleading as the ground also contained many of the 10,000 spectators who had stayed behind after watching the match between Manchester United and Derby County earlier that day.
The highest average attendance at Old Trafford over a league season was 75,826, set in the 2006–07 season. The greatest total attendance at Old Trafford came two seasons later, as 2,197,429 people watched Manchester United win the Premier League for the third year in a row, the League Cup, and reach the final of the UEFA Champions League and the semi-finals of the FA Cup. The lowest average attendance at Old Trafford came in the 1930–31 season, when an average of 11,685 spectators watched each game.
Old Trafford pics
Old Trafford video
Twickenham Stadium
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Twickenham Stadium (usually known as just Twickenham or Twickers) is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000. This makes it the second largest stadium in the UK after Wembley Stadium and the fifth largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is the home of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and as such primarily a venue for rugby union and hosts England’s home test matches, as well as the Middlesex Sevens, the Guinness Premiership final, as well as EDF Energy Cup and Heineken Cup matches. The stadium is considered an icon of English rugby.
Although the ground is usually only occupied by rugby union, it has in the past hosted a number of events, such as Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Genesis, U2, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Eagles and most recently R.E.M. concerts. It has also been the host of Rugby League’s Challenge Cup final.
The stadium is visible from aeroplanes on approach to nearby London Heathrow Airport.
Twickenham Stadium Overview
Twickenham is often referred to as the home of English rugby. The stadium is owned and operated by the RFU, so Twickenham is the host of numerous rugby union fixtures year round. Most prominently it is the home of the English rugby union team, who have played nearly all their home games at the stadium (as opposed to some of the other rugby nations that may have a home stadium, but use numerous venues, England uses just Twickenham). Twickenham hosts England’s Six Nations matches, as well as inbound touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere, usually annually around November.
Apart from its relationship with the national team, Twickenham is the venue for a number of other domestic and international rugby union matches. It hosts the annual London leg of the IRB Sevens World Series as well at the domestic Middlesex Sevens competition. It is also the venue for the final of the Guinness Premiership, and has hosted the Anglo-Welsh Cup final in the past. Twickenham also hosted the 2006-07 Heineken Cup final. The stadium is also host to The Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge, the English schools’ Daily Mail Cup final and the Army Navy Match which forms the culmination of the annual Inter-Services Competition.
Museum of Rugby
The World Rugby Museum is a museum located in Twickenham Stadium. The museum covers the whole of the global game, not just English rugby. It tells the history of the sport, including William Webb Ellis and Richard Lindon, using interactive display techniques. The museum has a rolling programme of special exhibitions which cover topical issues and offer an opportunity to display some of the obscurer items in the collection. Some unique displays include an English rugby jersey from the first ever rugby international in 1871 between England and Scotland, and (until 2005) the William Webb Ellis Cup which was obtained by England at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Twickenham Stadium Tours are also available through the Museum and run four times per day (Tuesday to Saturday) and twice on Sundays. It is usually open every day of the week except for Mondays. Except match days when for ticket holders only a special price entry to the museum is available.
Twickenham Stadium Pics
Twickenham Stadium Video
New Wembley Stadium
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Wembley Stadium (usually shortened to just Wembley) is a football stadium, located in Wembley Park in London, UK. Primarily a football venue, Wembley is owned by The Football Association (The FA) via its subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Limited, and hosts England’s home international football matches and the main English domestic cup finals. The Stadium is also used for music concerts and other sporting events. Wembley will host the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.
Wembley’s 90,000 capacity makes it the second largest stadium in Europe, and is the largest in the world with every seat under cover. Immediately following its opening, it was often referred to as the “new Wembley Stadium” to distinguish it from the original stadium. The land has been used as for football since as early as the 1880s.
Old Wembley Stadium
The previous Wembley Stadium (originally known as the British Empire Exhibition Stadium or Empire Stadium) was one of the world’s most famous football stadiums, being England’s national stadium for football, and because of the geographical origins of the game was often referred to as “The Home of Football”. It hosted the European Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) final a record five times, and is one of seventeen stadiums to have held a FIFA World Cup final. Though the original structure was closed in 2000, it was not demolished until 2003, after which construction began on the new stadium, originally intended to open in 2006. This was later delayed until early 2007. The final completion date of the stadium was 9 March 2007, when the keys to the stadium were handed over to the FA.
Music
Besides football, Wembley can be configured to hold many other events, particularly major concerts. The first concert at the new stadium was given by George Michael on 9 June 2007. Other acts to have performed at the stadium are Westlife, Muse who were the first artists to sell out Wembley, Metallica, Foo Fighters and Madonna. Coldplay, AC/DC, U2, Oasis and Queen.
Two large charity concerts have been held at the new Wembley stadium, the Concert for Diana, a memorial concert ten years after the Death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Live Earth. Bon Jovi were scheduled to be the first artists to perform at the new Wembley but the late completion of the stadium saw the concerts relocated to the National Bowl and the KC Stadium.
