How Did They Do That?
Wembley Stadium. A mecca for sports fans. The site of England’s 1966 World Cup Final victory over West Germany. Bobby Moore, the Charlton brothers, Geoff Hurst and Gordon Banks all made this hallowed ground. It’s been the venue for memorable international matches, FA Cup Finals and historical concerts.
Although the original stadium from 1923 was demolished in 2002, its modern replacement retains its aura. It’s a modern shrine to sport. It can seat 90,000, and is considered one of the finest sports stadiums in the world. Visitors ride escalators up its sides to reach comfortable seats, all with unobstructed views of the field. There are spacious concourses with lounges offering food, beer and even champagne. Luxury boxes dot the upper levels and the field is pristine, as carefully tended as one of the Queen’s royal gardens.
The Tottenham Hostspur Football Club does not normally play at Wembley. Since 1899, their home has been the stadium at White Hart Lane, a more modest affair with a capacity of around 36,000. Just like the original Wembley, it was time White Hart Lane to go, and at the end of the 2017 season it was demolished. A new stadium is being built on the original site with a planned opening sometime in 2019.
In the meantime, the Spurs play their home games at Wembley.
Alex and Seán hopped over to London for a quick visit, a perfect time to take in an English Premier League game. Tottenham had a home game against Leicester City, so it was an ideal situation. We could see a competitive league game and visit Wembley at the same time.
The game was a success. The weather cooperated. The crowd was fun. The seats were grand. The home team won.
Now it was time to leave.
We had arrived by Underground, so that’s how we would leave. Fans arrive over a period of a few hours. We wanted to be there with plenty of time to spare, which would allow us the chance to check out the area, see the inside and have a pint. So, arrival was easy. The tube station and surrounding areas were busy but easy to navigate.
Leaving is a different story. Although the capacity of Wembley wasn’t challenged for this game, tens of thousands of patrons leaving at the same time can still clog walkways and roads. Almost all of them take public transportation. The Wembley Park tube station is a little on the old side. It’s not overly large, but it is served by two train lines and has multiple platforms. As we arrived earlier in the day, I eyeballed the layout and thought this could be a real mess when it comes time to leave.
The moment of truth arrived. Heading toward the station, we were funneled along a steel and glass canyon formed by new high rise buildings on either side of the broad walkway. The crowd rapidly thickened until we came to a complete halt, probably 30 or more across and a good 50 yards from the bottom of the stairs leading into the station. Assessing the situation, we were anticipating an hour or more before we’d get into the station to catch our train.
We looked around. We thought about finding a pub in the area and just waiting for the crush to dissipate. But there were surprisingly few options nearby, and the thought of standing outside in the cool dampness trying to get up to a bar and order a drink just didn’t sound too appealing. I had my phone out and was looking through the Uber and MyTaxi apps to see if rides might be available.
But the queue started moving at a slow but steady shuffle. In short order we were climbing the steps into the station. People started splitting off depending on their direction of travel. Through the turnstiles and along a covered bridge, we kept up our steady progress. Stairs on either side of the covered walk led down to platforms. Personnel stationed at the top of each stairway maintained a steady narrative of what stairway to take for your destination. Down the stairs and onto the platform, we were greeted by an empty train just pulling in. Seated happily, we were whisked out of Wembley about 10 minutes after first encountering the bottleneck.
No chaos. No mass confusion or unruly passengers. No Tokyo-style conductors shoving as many passengers as possible onto each train. If we were at Dodger Stadium or PNC Arena, we’d still be in the parking lot. We were happily stunned. We still don’t know how they did it. I suppose there’s something to be said about being in a place that’s had over a century of reasonably efficient public transportation, both on the part of those providing the service and the passengers. The infrastructure may be old in places, but it works quite well.