London's on the itinerary!
The NFL will stage the first in its new series of international regular-season games in the United Kingdom's capital city when the Miami Dolphins host the New York Giants at London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 28 in Week 8 of the 2007 season.
It will be the first NFL regular-season game to be played outside of North America.
The game will kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. local time) and be shown live in the United States on FOX-TV and broadcast on Westwood One Radio Sports.
Both teams have a bye scheduled for the following week.
"There is great interest in the NFL around the world," said NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL. "Playing a limited number of regular-season games outside the United States is the next step for us in serving that interest. This is what our international fans, media partners, and sponsors want. There is no better place to begin this initiative than London. It is one of the great cities of the world with an established and growing fan base for our game. We are thrilled to bring the excitement of the NFL regular season to the United Kingdom."
Wembley facts and figures
</center><strong>Capacity:</strong> 90,000
Roof: Four acres of the 11-acre roof are moveable.
Total cost: $723,259,274
Construction: 3.18 million cu. ft. of concrete, 23,000 tons of steel
Arch: 436 feet tall, 1,033 feet long - longest single roof structure in the world
Circumference: 3,281 feet
Screens: Each of the two giant screens in the stadium is the size of 600 domestic television sets
In 2005, the NFL staged its first-ever regular-season game outside the United States as the Arizona Cardinals hosted the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City. A crowd of 103,467 flocked to Azteca Stadium - the largest crowd for a regular-season game in NFL history.
More than half a million ticket requests poured in soon after Commissioner Goodell announced the London game. A ticket registration process for the game was set up as a fan service for registered members of the NFL's UK website. Word spread among fans about the process and the website's server crashed several times due to the unprecedented traffic.
The first 40,000 tickets made available were sold in 90 minutes. The tickets were available to fans who were randomly selected from the registered ticket requests.
"What this clearly shows is that there is huge potential in Britain and wider in Europe for American football to have a huge impact," says Mayor of London KEN LIVINGSTONE. "We want to see the NFL come back to London again and again. We'll always make the NFL welcome. I think the game will trigger massive interest in Britain."
The Dolphins and Giants are two of the most recognizable teams in the NFL, with four Super Bowl wins between them.
"The Dolphins are proud to be a part of such a historic occasion," said Miami owner H. WAYNE HUIZENGA. "We were one of the first teams to play in the UK with our American Bowl appearance in London in 1988. Dolphins games always have been among the most popular NFL telecasts in England. We have a great following there, including fan clubs throughout the country."
The Giants owners are similarly enthused about the historic game.
"We are looking forward to bringing our team to London, which has long been a center of attention and enthusiasm for the NFL overseas dating back to the league's first game there in 1983," said JOHN MARA, president and chief executive officer of the Giants. "Playing in London in late October means our fans there will see a midseason contest. It will signal the beginning of the second half of the season when teams begin their playoff run."
Wembley Stadium opened in March of this year, resuming its position as the home of English soccer, as well as the site of other major sporting events and music concerts. The old Wembley, closed in 2000, hosted its first NFL preseason game in 1983 and eight NFL American Bowl games from 1986-93.