Old Wembley Stadium (1923): Capacity & Who Built It

The original Wembley Stadium — officially named the Empire Stadium — opened on 28 April 1923 after just 300 days of construction and stood as England’s most iconic sporting arena for 77 years. Built by Sir Robert McAlpine at a cost of £750,000, and designed by architects Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton with structural engineer Sir Owen Williams, the ground rose on the site of a Victorian folly called Watkin’s Tower in Wembley, London.

It was conceived as a temporary showpiece for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924–25 — a decision to make it permanent changed English sport forever. Its iconic Twin Towers defined the skyline for generations, and from the chaos of the 1923 White Horse Final to England’s only World Cup triumph in 1966 and the global spectacle of Live Aid in 1985, old Wembley hosted history at every turn before its last match in October 2000 and full demolition in 2003.

Quick Answer

Old Wembley Stadium (the Empire Stadium) opened on 28 April 1923 with a standing capacity of roughly 127,000. It was built by contractor Sir Robert McAlpine, to a design by architects Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton with engineer Sir Owen Williams, and construction took just 300 days at a cost of £750,000. Capacity was later cut to around 100,000 with more seating, then to 82,000 all-seated after the 1990 Taylor Report, the figure at which it closed in 2000.

Old Wembley Stadium Capacity: From 127,000 Standing to 82,000 All-Seated

The Empire Stadium opened with an official standing capacity of approximately 127,000, making it one of the largest sporting venues in the world in 1923. Its 104 turnstiles were overwhelmed at the very first event, the 1923 FA Cup Final, when an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 people are thought to have poured in — the official attendance of 126,047 likely reflects only those counted through the turnstiles before gates were abandoned.

Capacity evolved significantly over the stadium’s 77-year life. Pre-war modifications added seated sections while standing room stayed around 100,000. The most dramatic change came in 1990, when the government’s Taylor Report — a response to the 1989 Hillsborough disaster — required major football grounds to convert to all-seater venues. Old Wembley’s capacity fell to 82,000 all-seated, and it operated at that figure for its final decade, from 1990 until its last match on 7 October 2000.

For comparison, the current Wembley Stadium, which replaced the Empire Stadium on the same site in 2007, holds 90,000 seats — making it larger than old Wembley’s final all-seated capacity but smaller than the original 1923 standing figure.

Who Built the Original Wembley Stadium?

The Empire Stadium was built by Sir Robert McAlpine, the Scottish civil engineering firm whose founder was nicknamed ‘Concrete Bob’ for pioneering large-scale use of reinforced concrete from the 1870s onward. McAlpine’s firm — still trading today as Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd — used that same reinforced-concrete expertise to raise the stadium’s bowl, terraces and Twin Towers at extraordinary speed.

The design came from architects Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton, with Sir Owen Williams as the structural engineer responsible for the ferro-concrete construction that made such a fast build possible. At its peak, more than 12,000 workers plus roughly 4,000 subcontractors were on site, using over 25,000 tonnes of concrete and hundreds of tonnes of steel reinforcement to finish the stadium in just 300 days.

King George V cut the first turf before construction began on land previously occupied by Watkin’s Tower, an abandoned Victorian structure intended to rival the Eiffel Tower, and he returned to attend the stadium’s opening FA Cup Final in person on 28 April 1923.

Building the Empire Stadium in 300 Days

Construction ran from January 1922 to April 1923, with the stadium ready just four days before its inaugural event. At £750,000 — equivalent to roughly £50 million today — the cost was substantial for the era, but the pace was the real feat: an entire 127,000-capacity stadium raised in under a year using industrial-scale concrete casting methods McAlpine’s firm had refined on earlier projects.

It was always intended as a temporary exhibition centrepiece for the British Empire Exhibition of 1924–25, not a permanent sporting ground. Committee chairman Sir James Stevenson argued successfully for its preservation after the exhibition closed, and that decision gave English football its spiritual home for eight decades.

How Old Was the Original Wembley Stadium?

The original Wembley Stadium was open to the public for 77 years, from its inaugural event on 28 April 1923 to its final match on 7 October 2000. Demolition began in 2002, with the Twin Towers’ decorative crowns removed that December and the towers themselves brought down in early 2003; the site was fully cleared by 2003, putting the Empire Stadium’s total lifespan at roughly 79–80 years before the land was cleared.

The current Wembley Stadium — a completely different building designed by HOK Sport and Foster + Partners — opened on the same site on 9 March 2007. The two buildings share only the location and the name; if you’re asking how old the original Empire Stadium would be today, it was built in 1923 and its centenary was marked in April 2023.

The White Horse Final: Old Wembley’s Chaotic Debut

Old Wembley announced itself to the world in spectacular, chaotic fashion. On 28 April 1923 — the very day the stadium opened — the FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United attracted an estimated crowd well over 200,000 to a venue with an official capacity of around 127,000. Spectators flooded the pitch, the match came close to being abandoned, and mounted police were deployed to clear the field.

PC George Scorey, riding a grey horse named Billy, became the enduring image of the day as he calmly cleared spectators off the pitch. Though grey, Billy appeared almost white in the black-and-white footage of the era, giving the match its nickname — the White Horse Final. Bolton won 2–0 once the crowd, extraordinary in its patience, cooperated with police to restore order, and the episode exposed the stadium’s lack of crowd-control infrastructure for events of that scale.

old Wembley Stadium capacity and construction FAQs

What was old Wembley Stadium’s capacity?

Old Wembley opened in 1923 with a standing capacity of approximately 127,000. That fell to around 100,000 with pre-war seating additions, then to 82,000 all-seated after the 1990 Taylor Report — the capacity it held until its closure in 2000.

Who built Wembley Stadium in 1923?

Sir Robert McAlpine, the construction firm founded by ‘Concrete Bob’ McAlpine, built the Empire Stadium. It was designed by architects Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton, with Sir Owen Williams as the structural engineer.

How many workers built old Wembley Stadium?

More than 12,000 workers, plus roughly 4,000 subcontractors, worked on site at peak, completing the stadium in just 300 days using over 25,000 tonnes of concrete.

What was old Wembley’s record attendance?

The official figure of 126,047 comes from the 1923 FA Cup Final, though contemporary estimates suggest 200,000 to 300,000 people were actually inside the ground that day.

Is old Wembley the same building as the current Wembley Stadium?

No. Old Wembley (the Empire Stadium) was demolished in 2002–2003. The current Wembley Stadium is an entirely different structure that opened on the same site in 2007 and holds 90,000 seats.

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