European Gp 2009

[MattK]

I've never had a problem, but like I said, only been a couple of times. Obviously, that could be a problem unless, like you say, they change the start time.

 

Anyone know what time trains out of Cardiff run until? You might find it's not too dissimilar...

Last train from Cardiff to Swindon on a Saturday is 22:00 - so a total non-starter.

 

Last train from Paddington to Swindon is 23:37 - so it would be cutting it fine trying to get from Wembley to Paddington if you stayed til the end (we left the stadium at about quarter to 11 on Saturday night), unless you left straight after the final heat.

[leanne1706]

Even if they brought the start time forward by an hour that would help... I reckon it would be do-able for a lot of people.

 

Plus, there's better songs to sing on the way to Wembley! "Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we're going to Wembley..."

 

I'm not sure there are any for Cardiff!

[21st century heathen]

Even if they brought the start time forward by an hour that would help... I reckon it would be do-able for a lot of people.

 

Plus, there's better songs to sing on the way to Wembley! "Que sera sera, whatever will be will be, we're going to Wembley..."

 

I'm not sure there are any for Cardiff!

 

But would that fit in with the TV schedule? (they could play catch up - not the same as live though)

 

I don't know, nikkif had an entire CD of songs for Cardiff. Even if we did start to lose the will to live half way through.

[leanne1706]

But would that fit in with the TV schedule? (they could play catch up - not the same as live though)

 

Depends what else is on that day, I guess. But there must be some way around it...

[LOL]

Cardiff is an expensive weekend,i don't know if people could afford the two?it also has no roof and i think that Cardiff has much more of a better setting in my opinion,ok after few more hundred's of millions of our tax payers' hard earned cash the Wembley site would have that Sports village type feel about it but after a stay in the area,the outer surroundings were far from desireable and it's real congested at the best of times the traffic is mayhem,goodness knows what it's going to be like at the Olympics,if that works out then maybe there's hope on that front. I feel Cardiff will always have that sparkle

[Humphrey Appleby]

I might be giving away a secret here but when I've been down for the day in a car we have gone past the City, and then in from the west. This avoids queuing traffic in and out of the City from the east.

 

I appreciate there are ways and means, but I don't really have the time or inclination to go through some sort of masonic ritual to find them. These days, I just want to get in the car, drive directly to where I want to be, and park there (or very close to there). That you can do at Wembley, at least for the smaller events.

[21st century heathen]

You really are a miserable sod sometimes aren't you?!

[paulr]

Lets face it there are a few 'camps' wrt the Cardiff GP and whether Wembley is a better alternative

 

1) The ones that make it a social event - staying over on (at least) the Saturday night - therefore hotel, food & drink prices have a big impact

2) The ones that go there just for the event and use public transport

3) The ones that go there just for the event and use their own means of transport

 

My thoughts re the above :

 

1) London offer more hotels but (going by my quick search on Laterooms.com), London is more expensive - almost certainly the tourist areas of London are more expensive for grub & bevvy

2) More flexibility & choice for London - though reliance on the Tube to get from the event (both Wembley & O2) to the main line stations - my experiences at Wembley were the Tube was a real hassle and you could easily wait 50-60mins before getting on a train - though Ive heard the stations have got better for the new Wembley - does this make the service better though ?

3) M4 or M25 ? - both as bad as each other at times- though while there was a slight hold up on the M4 on Saturday it wasnt for long, getting into the city was easy hardly 'jumping through hoops' - satnav helps as well though - M25 and North Circular when there is an major event at Wembley is a different kettle of fish - it took us over 3 hours by car from Wembley to Wokingham after Euro 96

 

So all in all about even, maybe a lean towards Cardiff, depending what camp you sit in. However one of the 'buzzes' of Cardiff is that you know by being in the city there is an event on, the horns, the flag sellers etc. In London this would only be obvious near the stadium. For me this adds to the sense of occassion, that Im going to be part of something, that by going into pubs and eateries in cardiff that they are populated by speedway fans who on the whole are a friendly bunch. If people were all dispersed across various parts of London & Middlesex then I think the sense of 'occassion' may be lost a bit.

Edited July 4, 2008 by paulr

[paulr]

You really are a miserable sod sometimes aren't you?!

 

What do you mean 'sometimes' ???

[paul666]

Hi All,

 

I go past Wembley almost every day, to answer a number of the points made about the stadium,

 

1. It has a moveable roof like the Gelesenkirchen stadium, so is weather proof.

 

2. There are 3 train stations in Wembley:

 

Wembley Park underground, with Metropolitan and Jubilee line services.

 

Wembley Central underground, Bakerloo and mainline Euston

 

Wembley Stadium mainline, to Marlebone (for the football it is arranged for parking of cars and coaches at their stations near the M25 so you don't have to drive into London).

 

3. There are at least 2 big hotels almost next to the stadium and a number of B&B's nearby.

 

4. I can think of 4 pubs within a short walk of the stadium (these are normally closed when the football is on do to the trouble that seems to follow the game).

 

You have the added bonus of being very close to central London takes from 10 to a maximum of 25 minutes, depending

on which route you use.

 

There are also 5 airports serving London, the Channel tunnel link and a good road network around the area.

 

The only down side I can see is the vast number of tickets that would have to be sold to make the venue viable.

 

All the Best Paul

[paulr]

The roof at wembley does not close fully...

 

From wembley website...

"On event days at Wembley Stadium the roof is always in its fully closed position – lined up with the touchlines leaving the seats covered but the playing surface uncovered. This is how the stadium has been designed as it allows for maximum sunlight to get to the pitch.

 

We do not move the sliding roof whilst guests are in the stadium.

 

In the event of light rain, the seats are all under cover. In the event of extreme rain some guests on the front rows of level 1 can get wet and so we would recommend guests dress appropriately.

 

As the stadium’s roof does not close fully, guests with tickets for the pitch area at one of the stadium’s concerts will get wet in the event of rain."

 

 

I go past Wembley almost every day, to answer a number of the points made about the stadium,

 

1. It has a moveable roof like the Gelesenkirchen stadium, so is weather proof.

 

Im confused - does it fully close to be 'weathertight' or not ??

 

[iris123]

Im confused - does it fully close to be 'weathertight' or not ??

As long as it closes enough to keep the track dry.Is that the case?

[MrBeanti]

surely if it was "waterproof" they wouldnt of let the weather effect that NFL match like it did

[Humphrey Appleby]

As long as it closes enough to keep the track dry.Is that the case?

 

The roof at Wembley only covers the seats, but is moveable to avoid the problems you get with other large stadiums where the stands block air and light to the pitch (although it doesn't seem to have been a total success at Wembley either).

[J_D]

I believe Wembley will be a non starter as it has been mentioned before that it costs nearly 4x more to rent it for the time needed to build and remove the track. Why risk those sort of costs when it is not a covered stadia?

 

If IMG are set on getting capital city locations to race in, i would be inclined to hire out the reasonably priced Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh and filled it to capacity. Great location, hotels etc and decent media facilities.

[MrBeanti]

I still dont see how anybody can knock the millenium stadium, with its city centre location. Also the viewing from inside the stadium its one of the best in the world considering the size of the place. And then there is the roof, which means you have guarnteed speedway aswell as fantastic atmosphere in the closed arena. So if you can complain about this place, god knows what else you complain about.

[Hazzman]

1. It has a moveable roof like the Gelesenkirchen stadium, so is weather proof.

 

It doesn't.

 

Im confused - does it fully close to be 'weathertight' or not ??

 

 

The roof at Wembley only covers the seats, but is moveable to avoid the problems you get with other large stadiums where the stands block air and light to the pitch (although it doesn't seem to have been a total success at Wembley either).

 

HA answers your question.

[leanne1706]

I still dont see how anybody can knock the millenium stadium, with its city centre location. Also the viewing from inside the stadium its one of the best in the world considering the size of the place. And then there is the roof, which means you have guarnteed speedway aswell as fantastic atmosphere in the closed arena. So if you can complain about this place, god knows what else you complain about.

Not complaining about the stadium itself, not in the slightest. Not happy with the way speedway fans are being milked for every penny by the hotels around the stadium... that's if you can book one!

[gaptooth]

Wembley will be ok if you just do the meeting and go home but for a day out etc you won`t beat Cardiff

[Humphrey Appleby]

I still dont see how anybody can knock the millenium stadium, with its city centre location.

 

There is nothing wrong with the Millenium Stadium itself. In fact, it is ideal for staging the 'main' event of the SGP calendar.

 

The problem is actually getting to it, and the attractiveness of the location in the minds of the casual fan.