THE SKIPPER .

"The corroding legacy of the Birds Nest
It's not just the stadium's business plan that may have holes in it! Less than a year since it was unveiled to the world as the centrepiece of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, EVMI understands the iconic Birds Nest stadium is suffering from serious corrosion and rust damage. According to unconfirmed reports the stadium's main steel structure – which includes over 45,000 tonnes of steel – is in need of urgent attention. EVMI was informed that a team of European-based structural engineers were called on-site last week. The stadium has hosted just one major event since the Olympics last August and, without a regular calendar of events, there are unlikey to be the revenues coming in that are required for the maintenance of such a complicated structure.
Last year, welding expert Ed Craig observed (from afar) how welding of the stadium's superstructure was below standard and speculated on the structural risks that were apparent: "In 2008, the Chinese miraculously developed a method in which a project with 1,100, $10-a-day "manual welders" with all their human inconsistencies and obvious lack of process control training, manage to achieve a 100% weld pass rate! What a load of bull..."
The stadium's operator CITIC – which has a 30 year operating licence – did not respond to requests for further information."

"Wembley's on-going pitch vs profits fiasco
Wembley Stadium has been back in the headlines – but for the wrong reasons! Everyone hates the pitch and while The FA tried to replace it away from the cameras, their chosen 'fall guy' was fighting back, with the support of the Institute of Groundsmanship. Steve Welch, Wembley's head groundsman who was turfed from his job following the recent FA Cup semi-finals, has said that the damage to the pitch occurred before he took up the role at the national stadium. He blames poor construction and design issues prior to the stadium opening...
What was the point of building the new stadium if sporting excellence was never going to come first, asks Simon Barnes, chief Sportswriter of The Times. He believes that the FA were conceptually at fault when they pursued money instead of sporting excellence at England's national football stadium..."

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