Wembley Awaits

Much of the talk this week has focused on the excitement of playing at Wembley Stadium, one of the world's truly historic venues. Beginning with its first FA Cup Final on April 28, 1923, in which an estimated 200,000 fans packed the original Wembley, the stadium has hosted some of the more magical moments in the history of English and world football, highlighted by England's 4-2 victory against West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final. England captured its only world championship to date on that day, becoming the first host nation to win the tournament since Italy in 1934.

The "new" Wembley opened in 2007, and with a capacity of 90,000 seats it is the largest in the world with every seat under cover. The roof covers an area of over 11 acres, four acres of which are movable. With a span of 1040 feet, the arch is the longest single span roof structure in the world and is designed not to cast a shadow on the field.

OK, enough of the building stats (which are partially cool, we think). To read through the history of the stadium and some of its greatest moments, start here: