Wembley as P/O FInal venue

[Pablosammy]

We did two PO Finals at Cardiff while Wembley was being built, so the chance to watch Lincoln at Wembley in a Cup Final a couple of weekends ago was a great experience and even better that we won.

The actual Stadium didn't feel as big as I thought it would be. I know that sounds a little daft because it looks huge from the outside, but I think they designed it very well whereby even though it's a big place, with having the tiers quite steep and overlapping each other a little, it means you feel quite close to the pitch even in areas you usually wouldn't feel so i.e. the corners. I was in the tier below the Exec Boxes and even though I was in a corner, it still felt like you could get a decent idea of what was going on all over the pitch. There was plenty of leg room with wider than normal seats (that didn't feel the cheaper plastic ones you usually get even though they looked like it). The seats had a little more space between them as well so you didn't feel crammed in and didn't have to stand up as people wanted to get past..

It had a very weird choreographed feel about it, though. Don't get me wrong, some of it was needed and done very well, but there seemed to be a lot of jobs worth types around i.e. someone explaining to Waterfall how to lift a trophy! That was probably just how they run a Final and would be the same elsewhere, mind.

They constantly played music at times when you just wanted it turned off and to have a sing song and hear the fans sing. Any lull in sound and the PA system kicked in. That was annoying.

As UTS says, the traffic and parking is horrendous. We pre-booked in the 'Red' car park, which is right outside the Stadium. It took us nearly 2 hours to do the final 3 miles because 3 lanes suddenly became 1 and then a car park attendant was physically writing down everything on your confirmation email onto a separate piece of paper for some reason. There were two of them doing that in what was probably a 500+ sized multi storey car park.

If you've been there before to watch your team, I can understand why you'd not bother again. Location wise it's in a pretty shit and run down area, Wembley way looks nothing like it does on the TV, parking is horrendous even if you pre-book but there are tonnes of hotels a stones throw from the Stadium. It's still a building site around the Stadium, too.

Our tickets were £21-£63. How that compares to other games I'm not sure. Parking was £30 at official Wembley parking, which was well worth it in terms of how close it was to the Stadium, security and convenience.

Ended up being 30,000 Lincoln there.

In short, I can understand why those who haven't done Wembley to watch their team would want these matches to be played at Wembley and why those who have been there and done it wouldn't be fussed about it being moved to a Villa Park/Bet365 etc.

EDIT - I'm not sure whether this was just us, but we couldn't pick our seats or blocks - just the category of ticket we wanted. The Club were told to sell blocks anti-clockwise.

I'd forgotten about the music! It really killed the atmosphere, as there was tannoy noise right up until kick off which stopped the fans from getting going.

 

[Pablosammy]

Is it actually soulless? Or is that just the fashionable thing to say about any new stadium.

It feels like an airport terminal inside. It's pretty soulless.

 

[Railway Blue]

Apparently it was supposed to be held at Prenton Park this season, but Chester are still celebrating their 0-0 draw on the pitch.

You really are a simpleton. You've been missing for months and you only come on to insult a team with 72 years more than your 0 years as a Football League club. Good luck in the Conference South next year.

 

[Tranmerewhite]

My ticket which was near the halfway line was £46 plus admin. I think it was slightly cheaper behind the goal, but not by much.

I suspect the reason it is expensive is because Wembley Ltd will charge a flat rate of ground hire. The higher the potential attendance, the cheaper tickets can be offered at.

Another issue, though not unique to Wembley is the ticket purchase system for the game. Only allowing you to purchase directly through the national league, which most Tranmere fans agree would have stopped a chunk of sales to older fans or Liverpool/Everton fans coming for the day trip not knowing where to get tickets.

 

[Luke Imp]

Is it actually soulless? Or is that just the fashionable thing to say about any new stadium.

It is a bit. Anything less than 20k at each end and it'd be a struggle, but of course, it's designed for full houses not those kinda crowds.

I'd forgotten about the music! It really killed the atmosphere, as there was tannoy noise right up until kick off which stopped the fans from getting going.

That was the most annoying part. It was that loud that you couldn't try and drown it out either and they weren't even songs anyway, just tunes on repeat. Although they do allow you to choose club songs to play after the game if you win rather than stick with theirs.

My ticket which was near the halfway line was £46 plus admin. I think it was slightly cheaper behind the goal, but not by much.

I suspect the reason it is expensive is because Wembley Ltd will charge a flat rate of ground hire. The higher the potential attendance, the cheaper tickets can be offered at.

Another issue, though not unique to Wembley is the ticket purchase system for the game. Only allowing you to purchase directly through the national league, which most Tranmere fans agree would have stopped a chunk of sales to older fans or Liverpool/Everton fans coming for the day trip not knowing where to get tickets.

Shrewsbury did theirs through Ticketmaster, we did ours through Eventbrite (who do all our online ticketing anyway).

 

[Tranmerewhite]

It is a bit. Anything less than 20k at each end and it'd be a struggle, but of course, it's designed for full houses not those kinda crowds.

Shrewsbury did theirs through Ticketmaster, we did ours through Eventbrite (who do all our online ticketing anyway).

I had an England “season ticket” for a few years, it was very rare that even a packed Wembley sounded loud, only on the really big games.

Tranmere use a company similar to eventbrite, but the national league insist on selling tickets themselves.

 

[RLC]

I actually prefer the new Wembley to the old stadium, aside from the ticket prices. I really enjoyed our visit last season, with the exception of the ninety minutes of football.

If you win a play-off final - a major achievement for any club at this level - you want to celebrate the victory in a place with history and romance, not at some Ikea stadium like Stoke or Leicester. Villa Park is a great ground but going there would not have the same appeal for me, or a lot of the players I would imagine.

 

[E10rifle]

Is it actually soulless? Or is that just the fashionable thing to say about any new stadium.

Huddersfield is about the only newbuild stadium that I’ve been to which doesn’t feel is soulless.

 

[Tranmerewhite]

Huddersfield is about the only newbuild stadium that I’ve been to which doesn’t feel is soulless.

Huddersfield is 24 years old, is that counted as new? Prenton Park was rebuilt in 95.

 

[E10rifle]

Huddersfield is 24 years old, is that counted as new? Prenton Park was rebuilt in 95.

Anything after Glandford Park counts as new IMO. Right shithole that is.

I suppose I particularly despise the ‘bowl’ stadia at Leicester, Derby, Hull, Southampton etc. Take out the seat colours and you wouldn’t have a clue which one you’re looking at. Wembley is just a bigger bowl full of corporate wankers.

 

[Pablosammy]

Anything after Glandford Park counts as new IMO. Right shithole that is.

I suppose I particularly despise the ‘bowl’ stadia at Leicester, Derby, Hull, Southampton etc. Take out the seat colours and you wouldn’t have a clue which one you’re looking at. Wembley is just a bigger bowl full of corporate wankers.

Agree with this. We should be looking to North America for inspiration. They do some really interesting new stadiums - unique, each with their own character. From the huge NFL stadiums, to the new MLS stadiums, they're almost all more interesting than anything we offer up. They make our bowls look absolutely miserable... which they are.

 

[rudebwoyben]

Agree with this. We should be looking to North America for inspiration. They do some really interesting new stadiums - unique, each with their own character. From the huge NFL stadiums, to the new MLS stadiums, they're almost all more interesting than anything we offer up. They make our bowls look absolutely miserable... which they are.

They’re able to do that because they basically blackmail the local municipality into building them a new stadium in order to stop the franchise from moving.