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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| FA site crashes in Wembley rush | FA site crashes in Wembley rush |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Demand for tickets for the first competitive match at London's rebuilt Wembley stadium has caused the Football Association's website to crash. | Demand for tickets for the first competitive match at London's rebuilt Wembley stadium has caused the Football Association's website to crash. |
| Sixty thousand £10 tickets went on sale at 1500 GMT for England's Under 21 match against Italy on March 24. | Sixty thousand £10 tickets went on sale at 1500 GMT for England's Under 21 match against Italy on March 24. |
| It is a test event which it is hoped will allow a safety certificate to be issued, enabling Wembley to stage May's FA Cup Final before a 90,000 crowd. | It is a test event which it is hoped will allow a safety certificate to be issued, enabling Wembley to stage May's FA Cup Final before a 90,000 crowd. |
| The FA said there were early problems, but they had been fixed. | |
| A spokesman said tickets had been selling at the rate of 6,000 an hour. | |
| He added the FA was confident it would sell-out the 60,000 tickets, an "unheard of" amount for an under-21 game. | |
| But still not every attempt to buy tickets was successful. At 1830 GMT on Monday the site carried this message: | |
| "Apologies, but due to massive interest in the England Under 21 match at the new Wembley Stadium, we have currently closed the queue for tickets. | |
| "Please try again later." | |
| The 24 March game is one of two "ramp-up" events that will enable the £757m stadium to test its facilities and obtain a safety certificate from Brent Borough Council. | The 24 March game is one of two "ramp-up" events that will enable the £757m stadium to test its facilities and obtain a safety certificate from Brent Borough Council. |
| The first "ramp-up" event, also with a 60,000 capacity, is a Community Day primarily for local Brent residents to visit and view the facility on 17 March. | The first "ramp-up" event, also with a 60,000 capacity, is a Community Day primarily for local Brent residents to visit and view the facility on 17 March. |
| Keys handover | Keys handover |
| If these events are a success they will pave the way for the FA Cup final to be held there, with a full crowd capacity, on 19 May. | If these events are a success they will pave the way for the FA Cup final to be held there, with a full crowd capacity, on 19 May. |
| Construction firm Multiplex handed over the keys to the stadium to the FA on Friday, signalling an end to building work. | Construction firm Multiplex handed over the keys to the stadium to the FA on Friday, signalling an end to building work. |
| The project has been dogged by delays and increasing costs and will open more than a year late. | The project has been dogged by delays and increasing costs and will open more than a year late. |
| The old Wembley, which opened in 1924, closed in 2000 and was demolished in 2002. | The old Wembley, which opened in 1924, closed in 2000 and was demolished in 2002. |
| FA chief executive Brian Barwick described the handover of the keys as a "significant step" towards staging the FA Cup Final. | FA chief executive Brian Barwick described the handover of the keys as a "significant step" towards staging the FA Cup Final. |
| The first concert scheduled for the revamped stadium is set to be George Michael on 9 June. | The first concert scheduled for the revamped stadium is set to be George Michael on 9 June. |