13 May 2005    
Gordon McQueen and Frank Stapleton at Wembley

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Today marks the one year countdown to the most eagerly awaited sporting event of the decade - the opening of the new Wembley Stadium.

Exactly a year from today, players of the teams competing in The FA Cup Final will take to the field and experience a Wembley Roar like never before. They will run out under the iconic 133m arch that spans the stadium and cuts into the London skyline, into a stadium that is worthy of the title ‘Venue of Legends’.

Today’s milestone represents a remarkable journey that brings the national game back to its rightful home and gives the nation the world's greatest stadium - Football Is Coming Home.

Over the last year a number of significant milestones have been reached including the raising of the arch in June 2004 and the installation of the first block of seats in January of this year.

More recently the steel ‘perimeter prismatic truss’ - the steel ring at the top of the Stadium that supports the roof has been completed and a large amount of the glass and aluminium exterior cladding has gone up. The main roof trusses are currently being erected, over 5,000 seats of the 90,000 seats have been installed and the executive boxes are starting to be kitted out.

But it is not just the Stadium construction that is coming on apace. Road, rail, bus and pedestrian routes are being upgraded to ensure the area's infrastructure can cope with the influx of fans on event days.

This includes the upgrading of the three main stations servicing the Stadium and the building of a new pedestrian bridge. Thanks to the improved transport infrastructure approximately 70,000 people an hour will be able to get to Wembley Stadium by coach, rail and tube on event days.

To celebrate the Stadium’s year to go milestone the London Development Agency (LDA) have today announced the final shortlist of names for a state-of-the-art footbridge being built in Wembley that will connect the new national stadium to the town centre.

Furthermore, sales of the Club Wembley hospitality are buoyant. To date, over a third of Club Wembley seats have been sold - with contracted revenue from these now standing at over £220million.

Fans are being urged to get their bookings in not least because once they are sold out it will be ten years before you get another chance, by then David Beckham will be 41!

Michael Cunnah, CEO of WNSL commented: "Today marks a major milestone for everyone involved in the project and more importantly for football, rugby league and music fans all over the country.

"To see the stadium that we have previously only seen in models and computer generated imagery come together is truly exciting. Although we face another 12 months of hard work we can now begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Frank Stapleton a member of the 1979 FA Cup winning Arsenal team added: "I had no idea of the scale of this project, it is incredible.

"If I was a playing today what more motivation would you need to want to win The FA Cup next season than the chance to run out onto the Wembley pitch for the first time, it will be an experience the players will never forget."

Ashley Muldoon, Project Director for Multiplex Constructions (UK) Limited - the company building the Stadium, said: "Multiplex will handover the project on the contractual date. Multiplex will be then assisting WNSL as they prepare the stadium for licensing and operation for May 2006 for The FA Cup.

"It is really exciting to think that this time next year the world will be able to see a world class Stadium in operation here at Wembley. Multiplex and its team of consultants and sub contractors are incredibly proud to be designing and building what is undoubtedly the world's most famous Stadium."