Wembley Stadium - Tenants

Tenants

The English national football team is a major user of Wembley Stadium. Given the ownership by The Football Association as of 10 March 2007, the League Cup final moved back to Wembley from Cardiff following the FA Cup final and FA Community Shield. Other showpiece football matches that were previously staged at Wembley, such as the Football League promotion play-offs and the Football League Trophy final, have returned to the stadium, as has the Football Conference play-off final. Additionally, the Rugby League Challenge Cup final returned to Wembley Stadium in 2007. The new Wembley was a significant part of the plan for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London; the stadium was the site of several games in both the men's and women's football tournaments, with the finals being held there. Additionally, Wembley is one of the 12 2015 Rugby World Cup venues, for which pitch changes will have to be made.

The Race of Champions staged their 2007 and 2008 events at the stadium.

Wembley has had a long association with American Football. A United States Football League game was staged there in 1984, and between 1986 and 1993 the old Wembley stadium hosted eight National Football League exhibition games featuring 13 different NFL teams. Since the new Wembley Stadium opened in 2007 Wembley has hosted games during the NFL regular season. As a result of this, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated in October 2009 that "he expects the NFL will start playing multiple regular-season games in Britain in the next few years, an expansion that could lead to putting a franchise in London." On 20 January 2012, the league announced that the St. Louis Rams would become a temporary tenant of Wembley Stadium, playing an annual game at the stadium every year from 2012 to 2014; part of the reason the Rams were chosen was the fact that the team is owned by Stan Kroenke, who also is majority shareholder in a local Premier League team, Arsenal. However, the Rams later cancelled their 2013-2014 games, leading to the Jacksonville Jaguars becoming new temporary tenants and hosting games in London from 2013-2016. On 16 October 2012, the NFL announced there is to be two NFL regular season games played at Wembley Stadium during the 2013 season. The Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, 29 September 2013, and the San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, 27 October 2013. This is an attempt by the NFL to strengthen the NFL fanbase in London and internationally. Future plans to have a permanent NFL team in London may come to fruition considering the coming years of growth.