[Archived] Wembley Stadium

[waggy]

kept my losing record alive,ENGLAND have lost every game i have watched at wembley but what a stadium,still needs a few finishing touches,plus moving the away fans from behind the nets.But this is the best stadium i have been in

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Never go to Wembley when Rovers or England are playing

If Burnley get to the play offs, make sure you go and sit in their end

[waggy]

seen the rovers twice at wembley and we won twice

[Exiled_Rover]

It's not too shabby. I went for the NFL game (yes, the dreaded game a month ago that ruined the pitch ) and it's pretty impressive. Could do with a roof though.

[Ben-2000]

I can't believe it hasn't got a roof!

[Tim Southampton Rover]

It's a top stadium but a b**** to get out of it!

[1864roverite]

I thought it did have a roof ! it may be a cracking stadium but its a porety dire team that graces it for International games :!:

[Alan75]

I thought it did have a roof ! it may be a cracking stadium but its a porety dire team that graces it for International games :!:

And poor facilities management, that allows American Football to be played at the stadium days prior to an important game for the national sport,

[Exiled_Rover]

And poor facilities management, that allows American Football to be played at the stadium days prior to an important game for the national sport.

It was nearly a month ago. If the groundscrew can't repair the pitch in that time then they need to be fired. It would have helped both events if they had shut the roof, assuming the thing actually works.

It's a top stadium but a b**** to get out of it!

Depends how you got there. I'd imagine if you parked nearby it's a nightmare to get away. When I went for the NFL game I used Wembley Central and it was pretty straight forward, especially considering 80k people all departed at the same time.

[philipl]

It was nearly a month ago. If the groundscrew can't repair the pitch in that time then they need to be fired. It would have helped both events if they had shut the roof, assuming the thing actually works.

or gone to Cardiff

(Wembley doesn't have a roof but it does have an arch which is as much use as a brolly on a blustery day)

[Paul]

It was nearly a month ago. If the groundscrew can't repair the pitch in that time then they need to be fired.

One can't "repair" turf in the way one might repair a clay tennis court or whatever. From what I could see on TV the problems are created by poor drainage which revolves around the actual construction of the pitch. The NFL game won't have helped but it's likely all this game, combined with the weather, has done is to highlight the problem at an early stage.

The fault would be with the pitch designers, not the groundsmen.

[roverthemoon]

Wembley Stadium

The arch and roof

The turf

[USABlue]

One can't "repair" turf in the way one might repair a clay tennis court or whatever. From what I could see on TV the problems are created by poor drainage which revolves around the actual construction of the pitch. The NFL game won't have helped but it's likely all this game, combined with the weather, has done is to highlight the problem at an early stage.

The fault would be with the pitch designers, not the groundsmen.

Is the problem correctable? WOuld be a real poor do if such a fine stadium was cursed with continuing pitch problems. Made more undesirable by the fact it is a multi use stadium.

The "turf" link in the thread above suggests 50,000 gallons can be drained through the pitch in on hour, does not suggest a drainage issue to me.

[Guest Dik Bleek]

It looked like they were playing on a farmers field, what a joke after all money thy wasted!

[Paul]

Is the problem correctable? WOuld be a real poor do if such a fine stadium was cursed with continuing pitch problems. Made more undesirable by the fact it is a multi use stadium.

The "turf" link in the thread above suggests 50,000 gallons can be drained through the pitch in on hour, does not suggest a drainage issue to me.

I've worked in horticulture, not turfculture which is a different area, all my life however the principles of plant growth do not vary. I find some points in the link hard to believe, in particular the suggestion the growing medium is 95% sand. Before I make any comment I shall do a bit of research but my first reaction is this cannot be true. Plant growth in almost pure sand is difficult to maintain and the types of grass which will grow under such conditions are, in my view, limited. The link effectively says the pitch is a sand dune.

The drainage from the pitch will only be one factor. The pitch itself will be relatively shallow, perhaps 8-12", it's what is below and the drainage system therein which counts. The pitch could drain 50,000 gallons an hour but if the drainage pipes is silted up it might not be possible for the water to get away. Another factor is wind movement over the pitch - remember how terrible Old Trafford used to be? No air circulation.

[Guest Dik Bleek]

I think the big thing missing was the "ROOF" the Cardiff Stadium and The Amsterdam Arena never have these problems, how can you have a major stadium in a country with the climate the UK has without one the place is pathetic!

[thenodrog]

I think the big thing missing was the "ROOF" the Cardiff Stadium and The Amsterdam Arena never have these problems, how can you have a major stadium in a country with the climate the UK has without one the place is pathetic!

Yes but if they'd had a roof what would they have done with the arch thingy? Anyway do what they want withy the arch / pitch / roof the major design fault that can never ever be rectified with the stadium is that it is 120 miles too far south.

[Guest Dik Bleek]

Yes the arch is like having a umbrella frame with no cover!

[Uddersfelt Blue]

Yes the arch is like having a umbrella frame with no cover!

Maybe they could stretch a sheet of plastic over the top of it

[Billy Castell]

Yeah, get a load of schoolkids to run across the roof like a giant version of Wimbledon when it rains.

[USABlue]

I've worked in horticulture, not turfculture which is a different area, all my life however the principles of plant growth do not vary. I find some points in the link hard to believe, in particular the suggestion the growing medium is 95% sand. Before I make any comment I shall do a bit of research but my first reaction is this cannot be true. Plant growth in almost pure sand is difficult to maintain and the types of grass which will grow under such conditions are, in my view, limited. The link effectively says the pitch is a sand dune.

The drainage from the pitch will only be one factor. The pitch itself will be relatively shallow, perhaps 8-12", it's what is below and the drainage system therein which counts. The pitch could drain 50,000 gallons an hour but if the drainage pipes is silted up it might not be possible for the water to get away. Another factor is wind movement over the pitch - remember how terrible Old Trafford used to be? No air circulation.

I understand your point about the drainage system, does no good to have a "grate" (forgive me I couldn't resist) draining pitch if t' pipes er clogged. I was shocked too when I read about the sand. I'll be interested to read what you find out Paul. A heavy sand base would be an explanation of why it cut up so easily wouldn't it? I mean sand just can't clump like soil.

[den]

Surely it's just down to the fact that the pitch doesn't get any sunlight.

[Paul]

I find some points in the link hard to believe, in particular the suggestion the growing medium is 95% sand. Before I make any comment I shall do a bit of research but my first reaction is this cannot be true.

Right I understand now, it depends on what one considers to be the pitch, like most people I was thinking of the green bit on top. It's now obvious to me this is not how pitch construction is defined. Looking at the figures below one can clearly see the total pitch is around 95% sand. The new Chelsea training ground has 15 pitches with a basic construction of, one can imagine Wembley will be similar:

Grass zone: 30mm depth

Upper Root zone: 150mm depth (95%:10% sand soil) known as Fibre Sand

Lower Root Zone: 150mm depth (100% sand)

Gravel zone: 200mm depth (not used in all construction types)

Below the gravel zone drainage pipes are laid at 5m centres in slit trenches which are also filled with gravel

From what I can find the grass zone can be a 95:10 sand soil mixture as this aids root development into the upper root zone, basically helping the turf roots to "knit" into the next layer of growing media. I still feel it would be difficult to grow a pitch on 95% sand. The competitive nature of this market means one is unlikely to find a true definition of the turf layer. My guess would be the top 10-15mm of the turf is primarily a soil mixture and the lower 10-15 is a sand soil mixture of up to 95% sand. If it were much different every time a pitch cut up we would see the almost pure sand showing through?

[Alan75]

Turf to be replaced with 1800 tonnes of tarmac

[Alan75]

Rod Liddle Sunday Times How can it be that after all the agony and incompetence of getting the thing built, the national pitch resembled the sort of venue you see on porno internet sites where naked Ukrainian girls grapple in a farmyard with assorted cloven-hooved animals? And we had the cheek to complain about the Russians forcing us to play on a plastic pitch!

LINK