Sneak preview of new Wembley Stadium

The hat-trick hero enjoyed a tour of the stadium and tested out the view from the first batch of seats to be installed by construction workers.

Wembley will seat 90,000 fans in unrivalled comfort, with every spectator enjoying more legroom than the seats in the old Royal Box, and every seat enjoying an unrestricted view of the pitch.

Sir Geoff also revealed the itinerary for tours of the new stadium, which will include a visit to the dressing rooms, the walk onto the pitch through the players' tunnel and the chance to climb the steps to the Royal Box and hold a trophy aloft to the accompaniment of the 'Wembley Roar'.

Memorabilia on display to visitors will include the original Olympic torch from the 1948 London Games and the crossbar Hurst struck while scoring his contraversial second goal in the 1966 World Cup Final.

The famous ground - which would host the finals of the football tournament in 2012 - is scheduled to re-open in time for the FA Cup Final in May 2006.

Michael Cunnah, Chief Executive of Wembley National Stadium Limited, said: "When the stadium opens it will be a real show-stopper and we imagine demand for tours to see the inside of the state-of-the-art venue will be huge.

"The stadium is already looking fantastic and construction hasn't even been completed - I think the public will be totally bowled over when they see the new stadium - which is on a totally different level in terms of size and quality to what we had before.

"The public deserve a world-class national stadium and in Wembley they won't be disappointed."

Sir Geoff added: "I knew the old Wembley like the back of my hand and obviously have many abiding memories of it.

"The new stadium will be a very special place for both players and fans to visit and I'm certainly looking forward to getting to know it inside out.

"I'm sure any sports fan will want to acquaint themselves with this magnificent venue too, which will be revered throughout the world of football."

11 January 2005

Wembley Stadium website