England World Cup hero Sir Geoff Hurst has given his backing to the new Wembley Stadium after joining the first group of fans to inspect the site. The supporters, accompanied by Sir Geoff, were allowed into one of the completed sections of the ground, which should be finished in a year's time.
"It's going to be great to have a national stadium which is going to be the best in the world," he said.
"I'm as excited at coming to the new Wembley as coming to the old Wembley."
Sir Geoff said it was ridiculous to have considered building a national stadium away from the traditional home of English football.
"You wouldn't move Lord's or Wimbledon. You don't have a national stadium in a provincial city," he said.
"The disappointing factor is how long it took initially to decide where and how to build it, but I think we'll look back on those reports and laugh."
Fans seemed impressed by what they saw, but were more concerned about how easy and costly it would be to get tickets when the project was complete.
"As fans, we were fairly confident it would be a superb stadium," said Ian Todd, president of the Football Supporters' Federation.
"What we are interested in is what the prices will be, and how easy it will be to get here and get away from the ground."
MMIX
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We are interested in what the prices will be, and how easy it will be to get here and get away