| 21st February 2006 05:23 AM |
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| Gazza |
Wembley Cup Final bites the dust
By Times Online and Ashling O'Connor and Matt Dickinson of The Times
The FA will admit defeat today on staging this year’s FA Cup Final at Wembley after months of speculation that the new £757 million national stadium would not be ready on time. Brian Barwick, the FA’s chief executive, will break football’s worst-kept secret that the final will be played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on May 13. England’s pre-World Cup friendly matches, against Hungary and Jamaica on May 30 and June 3 respectively, will be staged at Old Trafford.
Barwick and Michael Cunnagh, the chief executive of Wembley National Stadium Ltd, visited the site yesterday hoping that Multiplex, the Australian construction company in charge of the project, would be able to provide a guarantee that an agreed March 31 handover date could be met.
After frank discussions with Martin Tidd, Multiplex UK’s managing director, it was clear that the lead builder could offer no firmer prediction than it could on January 30, when it said that the chances of the Cup Final being staged at Wembley this year had fallen to 70 per cent.
Multiplex said today it was "disappointed" with the FA’s decision. In a statement to the Australian stock exchange, the company's secretary, Mark Wilson, said: "Multiplex understands that the English Football Association is to transfer the 2006 FA Cup final to its reserve venue [Millennium Stadium]. Whilst disappointed with the decision, Multiplex continues to work towards targeting completion of Wembley National Stadium at the earliest possible date.
"We understand that the FA has made this decision on the basis that it requires 100 per cent certainty that the venue will be fully functional by May 13 2006, the scheduled date for the the 2006 FA Cup final."
The FA decided to put an end to the constant speculation by issuing a statement before Multiplex’s next update to its shareholders on Thursday. With the FA Cup entering its sixth round, officials at Soho Square decided that certainty was the best form of preparation for one of the most-watched football matches on the calendar. “We couldn’t take any risks,” an FA source said.
The FA’s statement comes as no surprise after a catalogue of setbacks for one of Britain’s most troubled construction projects. Ever since its conception, there has been debate about its necessity, but with consensus established that it would be the best stadium in the world, the path to completion has not run smooth.
As Multiplex’s losses on the project approach £100 million, the company has encountered problems with sub-contractors, particularly the steelworkers, and had time-consuming legal run-ins with Quintain, the property group that owns the surrounding land.
The most recent of these wrangles came last week, when a court issued Multiplex with a two-week notice to vacate offices on Quintain land after the two companies failed to agree new rental terms. A spat over access to the main pedestrian ramp cost Multiplex months.
The FA has declined to put a date on when Wembley could be finished for fear of further embarrassment. There could be more delays through the summer, although Multiplex will have the added incentive to finish the stadium as quickly as possible as it accrues overrun penalties of nearly £1 million a week. The FA Community Shield on August 6 could be the next obvious date in the football calendar.
There are several pop concerts lined up for Wembley in June, starting with Bon Jovi on June 10 followed by the Rolling Stones, Take That and Robbie Williams. Wembley is expected to announce today whether these events will go ahead.
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| 21st February 2006 05:25 AM |
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| Gazza |
For those worried about the Stones gigs and before anyone gets too excited or anxious, it should be pointed out that the last paragraph is misleading
The only concerts scheduled for June are Bon Jovi and Take That - the Stones of course arent due there until August 20 and Robbie Williams is September
Theres no way the Stones shows would be affected if the deadline for the cup final was only missed by a couple of weeks
I would expect that the June shows at the new stadium would be the only ones under threat and even then, they could still easily be rescheduled to take place BEFORE the Stones' concerts.
As the first football match should be the Community Shield on 6th August, that still means the stadium would be ready in good time for the Stones two weeks later
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| 21st February 2006 05:47 AM |
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| Gazza |
Wembley will not be ready for Cup
By David Bond
(Filed: 21/02/2006)
The Football Association will admit today that it has no idea when the new Wembley stadium will be ready to open.
After months of speculation, embarrassed officials at Soho Square last night finally conceded defeat in the race to have the £757 million stadium finished in time for the FA Cup Final on May 13. The showpiece match will instead be held at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.
The FA now concede that the first match to be played at the new stadium will be the Community Shield
The Football League play-offs at the end of May will also be transferred to Cardiff while England's World Cup warm-ups against Hungary on May 30 and Jamaica on June 3 will be moved to Old Trafford.
A total of 10 events were planned to take place at the new Wembley before August, including concerts by Bon Jovi and Take That.
Those concerts are expected to be rescheduled although officials hope that performances by the Rolling Stones in mid August will go ahead.
The FA will refuse to name a possible opening date for fear of missing another deadline, but insiders hope the Community Shield on Aug 13, the football season's traditional curtain raiser, will be the first match at the ground.
The decision to move the FA Cup Final comes after a visit to the construction site yesterday by Brian Barwick, the FA chief executive, and Michael Cunnah, the Wembley National Stadium Limited chief executive
They held lengthy talks with Martin Tidd, the managing director of the stadium constructors Multiplex. They were told that the troubled Australian company could not provide 100 per cent guarantees that the stadium would be finished by March 31 - the deadline set to ensure the ground passes safety checks in time for the grand opening. The original date was Jan 31.
The delay is a blow to the FA but could prove even more costly to Multiplex, which already says it expects to lose £75 million on the £326 million fixed-price contract.
With penalties of £2 million a day running since mid January, those losses could exceed £100 million, putting it under fresh pressure from angry shareholders.
www.telegraph.co.uk |
| 21st February 2006 06:07 AM |
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| corgi37 |
And the lesson is...
...never hire Australians. |
| 21st February 2006 06:17 AM |
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| RSRTG |
and my lesson is.....is that I'm not meant to see the stones this time around. I actually have an appointment with my bank this week to get some coin to possibly go to one of the wembley shows but now all that is up in the air.....life can be so cruel. |
| 21st February 2006 06:29 AM |
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| Gazza |
The Stones at wembley is NOT "up in the air"
it should be confirmed in a few hours anyway |
| 21st February 2006 06:37 AM |
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| RSRTG |
Thanks Gazza, i look forward to the confirmation.
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| 21st February 2006 11:30 AM |
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| Gazza |
here's the updated info - Not "100% confirmation" per se, but I'm pretty confident it shouldnt be a problem....however, not for the first time in my life, I'm thankful I'm not a Bon Jovi fan...
Last Updated: Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 15:29 GMT
Wembley hopeful for gig go-ahead
Wembley Stadium management have said they are optimistic their summer concerts will go ahead despite delays to the completion of the rebuilt venue.
Concerts by Bon Jovi, Robbie Williams, Take That and the Rolling Stones are scheduled between June and September.
But the arena's opening event - the FA Cup Final on 13 May - has been moved to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium to allow extra time for Wembley to be finished.
"We're very hopeful the concerts will go ahead," said a Wembley spokeswoman.
Bon Jovi are due to play the first gig at the new Wembley on 10 June.
"It's still too early to say when the stadium will be open," said Wembley's chief executive Michael Cunnah.
'Still in discussions'
WEMBLEY STADIUM SHOWS
Bon Jovi - 10/11 June
Take That - 24 June
Rolling Stones - 20/22 August
Robbie Williams -
14-16, 18/19 September
Cup Final goes to Cardiff
The spokeswoman for Wembley National Stadium Ltd, the Football Association-backed company that owns Wembley, said on Tuesday it was "still in discussions" with music promoters about the events.
"It is too early to say at the moment. We are talking with the music promoters but we have not made our decision," she said.
AEG Live, which is promoting the Bon Jovi shows, declined to comment.
The original completion date for the stadium had been autumn 2005, with the deadline first extended to the end of January and then the end of March.
Multiplex, the company building the new stadium, warned in January that there was only a 70% chance of the 90,000-seat stadium being ready to stage the FA Cup Final, the showpiece event of the English football season.
It said then that it could not afford any further delays if it was to meet the delayed 31 March deadline to hand the £757m project to the Football Association.
Reunion gig
The Rolling Stones' shows are scheduled for September
Bon Jovi are due to play at Wembley on 10 and 11 June, with 1990s pop idols Take That set to play a reunion gig there on 24 June.
But no plans have so far been made to move football's Community Shield, scheduled for 13 August - before the Rolling Stones' planned shows on 20 and 22 August.
And rugby league chiefs have said they remain confident their Challenge Cup final, set for 26 August, will take place at Wembley. A series of five Robbie Williams concerts is scheduled for mid-September.
Building work on Wembley has been dogged by difficulties.
Multiplex issued six profit warnings between February and December last year, largely due to cost increases at the project, causing its shares to drop 42% in 2005.
Even if the work was finished by the end of March, the management of the new stadium would have had to train up hundreds of staff and satisfy safety officials that they could stage major events.
www.bbc.co.uk/news
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| 21st February 2006 11:34 AM |
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| Gazza |
..my take on that is that if they're able to say that they're "very hopeful" and "optimistic" that the concerts should go ahead, then the Stones shows should be pretty safe as theyre 2 months after the Bon Jovi and Take That shows which would obviously be the concerts more likely to be affectd by any delays.
If they can be optimistic about a show on the 10th of June, then a show on 20th August should be solid. |
| 21st February 2006 11:57 AM |
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| voodoopug |
the world would be a better place if more Bon Jovi shows are cancelled! |
| 21st February 2006 12:00 PM |
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| Joey |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
And the lesson is...
...never hire Australians.
Funny !!!!
Corgi is TRULY the KING !!!! |
| 21st February 2006 12:35 PM |
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| nanatod |
As an American, I kind of know who Robbie Williams is, but not Take That. How can either group fill a stadium? |
| 21st February 2006 12:37 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
I've been watching the latest about the new Wembley Stadium on Sky Sports News. What made me laugh was when the guy from the Football Association commented on how hard the labourers were working on getting it ready.
For those who read The Sun. Is it just me, or wasn’t there a report a few weeks ago about all the pot smoking that was going on, on the site during work hours?
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| 21st February 2006 12:46 PM |
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| nanatod |
Never mind. Wikpedia filled me in on Take That. |
| 21st February 2006 01:33 PM |
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| Joey |
" For those who read The Sun. Is it just me, or wasn’t there a report a few weeks ago about all the pot smoking that was going on, on the site during work hours? "
< ------ Huh ?!?!
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| 21st February 2006 01:35 PM |
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| Break The Spell |
John Blond Joki got cancelled because the town didn't have a good enough hair dresser. |
| 21st February 2006 01:47 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
As an American, I kind of know who Robbie Williams is, but not Take That. How can either group fill a stadium?
Robbie Williams is HUGE over here in England. He has no problem filling out stadiums in the UK. Take That were the UK's biggest boy band in the early - mid 90's and ironically, Robbie was a member. |
| 21st February 2006 01:53 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
As an American, I kind of know who Robbie Williams is, but not Take That. How can either group fill a stadium?
Think of a Brit version of N'Synch - its their reunion tour
Robbie Williams was in Take That originally
How can Robbie Williams fill a stadium? Easily. He's hugely popular. And his ticket prices dont cost a week's wages, so his fans can afford to see him.
[Edited by Gazza] |
| 21st February 2006 01:59 PM |
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| nanatod |
"Robbie Williams is HUGE over here in England."
The last time he played Chicago, I think it was at the Metro, so that would mean approximately 1000 people saw him close up.
[Edited by nanatod] |
| 21st February 2006 02:18 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
"Robbie Williams is HUGE over here in England."
The last time he played Chicago, I think it was at the Metro, so that would mean approximately 1000 people saw him close up.
[Edited by nanatod]
Well, it's quite well known over here that he's not big in the States. Robbie has often stated that he's "given up" hope of cracking America. Actually, that's probably why he lives in LA. NO ONE knows who he is there! |
| 21st February 2006 05:04 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
"Robbie Williams is HUGE over here in England."
The last time he played Chicago, I think it was at the Metro, so that would mean approximately 1000 people saw him close up.
[Edited by nanatod]
which hardly matters if hes able to sell out 5 nights in an 80,000 seater stadium in England in a couple of hours - or fill Knebworth for THREE nights (200,000 tickets each time!)
Like all forms of popular entertainment, some acts "translate" and others dont.
Being big in the US isnt the be-all and end-all of everything. Quite a lot of artists do incredibly well without it (Oasis, to give another example). Most of them arent going to lose much sleep over it.
The Grateful Dead were never a big act over here. We just didnt 'get it'. Never did THEM any harm, though!
[Edited by Gazza] |
| 21st February 2006 05:11 PM |
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| nanatod |
"Quite a lot of artists do incredibly well without it (Oasis, to give another example)."
Oasis actually ended up doing well in the U.S. I know that in Chicago they played among other places, the Rosemont Horizon, which seats approximately 20,000 people. I suspect that they did just as well on the East Coast.
The components of Blur (Graham Coxon, Gorillaz) also are popular and do surprising well in the U.S. |
| 21st February 2006 05:26 PM |
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| Flairville |
to all of you that haven't heard of Take That or Robbie Williams consider yourselves lucky. i've got to go and see Take That twice and Robbie Williams once. I hate Robbie Williams but the girlfriend has spoken, I'll just take my ipod and close my eyes. |
| 21st February 2006 05:33 PM |
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| glencar |
His "Angels" was just *so* heartfelt.. |
| 21st February 2006 05:35 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
"Quite a lot of artists do incredibly well without it (Oasis, to give another example)."
Oasis actually ended up doing well in the U.S. I know that in Chicago they played among other places, the Rosemont Horizon, which seats approximately 20,000 people. I suspect that they did just as well on the East Coast.
The components of Blur (Graham Coxon, Gorillaz) also are popular and do surprising well in the U.S.
yeah, I think Oasis played MSG a few months ago, didnt they? Other times though theyve struggled to fill bigger venues I think (maybe they tend to just do well in the bigger cities). Surprised and pleased to hear Blur are so popular. Wouldnt have though theyd have 'translated' at all, to be honest. |
| 21st February 2006 05:38 PM |
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| glencar |
Song #2 was featured in a few ads. That never hurts! |
| 21st February 2006 05:40 PM |
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| nanatod |
"Surprised and pleased to hear Blur are so popular."
Song #2 got tremendous airplay on alternative radio when it came out. I personally prefer "There's no other way," which makes it into alternative rock station's playlists when they play the deeper cuts.
The Gorillaz draw an alt-rock crowd also. Maybe it is also the influence of college radio for both Coxon and the Gorillaz.
If Albarn and Coxon ever reunite, I bet they could fill 10,000 seat venues in U.S. big cities.
[Edited by nanatod] |
| 21st February 2006 06:44 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
nanatod wrote:
"Surprised and pleased to hear Blur are so popular."
Song #2 got tremendous airplay on alternative radio when it came out. I personally prefer "There's no other way," which makes it into alternative rock station's playlists when they play the deeper cuts.
The Gorillaz draw an alt-rock crowd also. Maybe it is also the influence of college radio for both Coxon and the Gorillaz.
If Albarn and Coxon ever reunite, I bet they could fill 10,000 seat venues in U.S. big cities.
[Edited by nanatod]
I knew Oasis were semi-popular in the States. I think (What's The Story) Morning Glory? was quite successful over there, but I had no idea Blur were even KNOWN across the pond.. I love the band and I'm seeing Graham Coxon live in April.
There’s No Other Way is a CLASSIC! As far as Blurs music goes, its kind of in no mans land. It was their one hit during their baggy phase in '91 and they didn't really make waves again 'till their 3rd album, Parklife, in 1994.
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| 22nd February 2006 02:22 PM |
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| Gazza |
22-February-2006 08:11:03
Stones Happy With Wembley Setback
The delay in the building of Wembley Stadium in London may leave Bon Jovi and footballs fans unhappy, but the Rolling Stones are delighted at the prospect of being the first ever band to play their according to BBC 6Music.
Stones tour manager John Giddings claims "I think it's for us as a British band to support a British Institution and send out a signal to the rest of the world."
www.albumvote.co.uk |
| 22nd February 2006 02:24 PM |
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| Gazza |
Bon Jovi 'want Wembley go-ahead'
Bon Jovi are due to play the new stadium in June
Organisers of Bon Jovi's planned gigs at Wembley Stadium have said they still want the shows to go ahead at the rebuilt London sporting venue.
Delays have meant May's FA Cup Final - which was due to be the first event held there - has been moved to Cardiff.
Bon Jovi - who were the last act to play the old Wembley Stadium - are due to play there on 10 and 11 June.
Promoter AEG Live said it was "working closely" with Wembley, and that it and the band wanted the gigs to take place.
The company's senior vice-president Rob Hallett said: "Everyone at the company appreciates that these are extremely difficult circumstances.
"Whilst I can't go into any detail we are considering all of our options. Wembley want to stage the shows, AEG Live want Wembley to stage the shows - and the band naturally want to see through the honour of being invited to open the stadium."
Wembley's chief executive Michael Cunnah said on Tuesday it was "still too early to say" when the stadium would open.
As well as Bon Jovi's shows, concerts by Robbie Williams, Take That and the Rolling Stones are scheduled between June and September.
Work on the stadium has been dogged by difficulties.
The original completion date for the stadium had been autumn 2005, with the deadline first extended to the end of January and then the end of March.
A number of other sporting events for May and June have also been moved to other venues, but no plans have so far been made to move football's Community Shield, scheduled for 13 August - before the Rolling Stones' planned shows on 20 and 22 August.
www.bbc.co.uk
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