24 July 1998 - Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

On 24 July 1998, the FA granted Arsenal's request to move their upcoming Champions League matches from Highbury Stadium to Wembley. Although the switch allowed the Gunners to play before a larger audience, it proved to be an unwise decision.

At the time, Wembley had a capacity of about 70,000, almost double that of Highbury. In defending the move, Arsenal issued a statement claiming that "[i]f the matches were to be played at Highbury, more than 6,000 season ticketholders, junior Gunners and concessionary groups would have been relocated to other parts of the ground" and that "[m]any thousands of Arsenal supporters would have been excluded from the games completely."

Manager Arsène Wenger supported the venue change, but noted the risk, saying "[w]e may be less comfortable at Wembley, but it is a big occasion to play there and we will have more support." And, indeed, the Gunners struggled in their matches there. In two Champions League seasons, they played a total of six matches, winning two, drawing two, and losing two, and failed to advance out of the group stage both times.

In preparation for the construction of a new Wembley, the original stadium was closed in 2000. Arsenal's Champions League matches returned to Highbury, where they went undefeated in the tournament, though they were eliminated by Valencia in the quarterfinals under the away goals rule.

28 April 1923 - Behold A Pale Horse

On 28 April 1953, Bolton Wanderers and West Ham met in the FA Cup Final. It was the first event ever held at the original Wembley Stadium.

The stadium had been built over the course of the previous year at a cost of £750,000 and was ready for business just four days prior to the Final. Approximately 300,000 people turned up for the match, far in excess of the stadium's capacity of 127,000.

Spectators spilled out of the terraces and onto the pitch before the match, requiring mounted police to clear the field for the game. The day's iconic image shows constable George Scorey on a grey horse parting a sea of supporters. His horse, Billie, appeared white on film, giving rise to the match's nickname as the White Horse Final.

The natch itself was anticlimactic. Bolton went ahead in the second minute with a goal from forward David Jack. Jack's shot hit a spectator who was standing against the net, knocking him unconscious. Bolton forward Jack Smith doubled their lead in the 53rd minute and Wanderers held on for a comfortable 2-0 victory.

9 March 2007 - Wembley Reborn

On 9 March 2007, construction was completed on the new Wembley Stadium and the keys handed over to the Football Association after multiple delays and a loss of almost £200 million to the stadium's general contractor.

With construction starting in 2000, initial plans for the stadium called for its completion in 2003. But legal issues and problems with financing quickly pushed the scheduled opening back to May 2006. Problems with construction dogged the new project, however, including delays related to the building of the stadium's iconic arch that resulted in the replacement of the subcontractors in charge of it.

In 2004, 54-year old carpenter Patrick O'Sullivan died when a scaffolding collapsed. More problems followed in 2006, including damage to the sewers underneath the stadium due to improper installation, pushing the completion date again, this time into 2007. Multiplex, the stadium's general contractor, claimed that many of the delays were the fault of subcontractor WNSL, resulting in litigation between the two companies.

The 90,000-seat stadium was finally completed in March 2007 at a total cost of approximately £1 billion. Multiplex reportedly suffered a loss of £187 million on the project.

The first competitive football match played at the new stadium was the 2007 FA Trophy Final between Kidderminster Harriers and Stevenage Borough. It has since hosted several cup finals and English national team matches, as well as concerts. It is also the venue for the upcoming 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.