Soccer, or as they call it here, football is as much a part of the English culture as fish and chips and the musicals created by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Soccer takes center stage of almost the whole country’s attention every weekend and for plenty of fans in other countries, too. English soccer is a premium product with billions of dollars involved and with clubs having long assumed the role of multi-faceted businesses.
Consequently, the stadiums the sport is played in have become important visitor destinations themselves and not only for game time, when fans from near and far take the opportunity to see their favorite teams play. For them, the pitches are holy grounds even outside of the fixtures and visiting the stadiums resembles a pilgrimage. But even visitors not enthusiastic about a certain team can certainly appreciate the history and symbolism of many of the famous stadums in the country. All of these famous grounds offer public tours when there are no events scheduled.
Wembley Stadium, Greater London
Although the historic Wembley Stadium, built in 1923, has been demolished, the replacement structure has quickly earned the status of an iconic field as well. Completed in 2007, the stadium with the marquee arch hosts alls home games of the national team as well as other large events such as concerts, rugby or NFL games. Wembley Stadium has 90,000 seats, making it the second-largest arena in Europe.
Emirates Stadium, London
The new stadium built by Premier League side Arsenal was completed in 2006 and offers room for 60,700 fans. It is located in the London district of Holloway, the stadium features a translucent roof covering all spectator seats and large murals on the outer walls depicting a total of 32 famous former Arsenal players.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Greater London
Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has played more than 2500 home games at historic White Hart Lane until 2017, when the venue was demolished to make room for the new pitch n the same location. As a special feature, the stadium has a retractable football field under which an artifical turf can be found that is being used for hosting NFL games. The venue has a capacity of 62,000.
Anfield, Liverpool
One of the best-known sports venues in the world, Anfield is located in the Liverpool suburb of the same name. Opened in 1884, the field has been the home of Liverpool FC since the club was founded in 1892. The grounds have been remodeled and expanded numerous times in the course of its existence and today has a capacity of 61,300. It’s most famous part is The Kop, the stand occupied by the most die-hard Liverpool fans.
Old Trafford, Greater Manchester
Looking at the modern structure for 74,000 spectators in the Manchester suburb of Trafford today, it is hard to imagine that ground for the original venue was broken in 1909 and that it had cost only 90,000 pounds to build. Statues of former players and managers adorn the perimeter which also contains a hotel and a large store selling Manchester United merchandise.
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