Project Management Case Study: The Wembley Stadium Project Analysis

This case study examines the project management of Wembley Stadium, a major construction project in the UK. It delves into various aspects of the project, including stakeholder involvement (Football Association, Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and others), strategic alignment, and the decision-making processes involved in quality control, cost management, and project delivery. The study highlights significant challenges faced, such as cash flow problems, design changes, health and safety issues, poor performance, disputes, and poor planning. The report details the corrective actions taken, including project cost management, site management improvements, and project communication strategies. Furthermore, it emphasizes the role of innovation and collaboration, particularly process innovation, in achieving project success. The analysis underscores the importance of these factors in overcoming challenges and ensuring effective project outcomes. The Wembley Stadium case study provides practical insights into managing large-scale construction projects.

Case Studies in
Project Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................3
TASK.........................................................................................................................................3
Project description..................................................................................................................3
Role of innovation and collaboration.....................................................................................7
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................12
Books and Journals:.............................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Project management is a process of managing all activities related to the project. It
becomes very necessary in each sector or industry. Project management becomes most
beneficial for construction sector. In the construction sector, everyday construction company
get some projects (Webber, 2021). For that purpose, the need to make a plan in a systematic
manner which includes all activities such as arrangement of raw material, recruitment of
human resource, latest technology, etc. The construction company has a responsibility that
they build a project in a unique and innovative way. So they can able to achieve their goals
and objectives. In this context one famous project is undertaken i.e. Wembley stadium.
Wembley stadium is the football stadium in London which was opened in 2007. This is
stadium is owned by English football, the Football Association which is the governing body.
It is the largest stadium in UK that's why the construction was not easy. This report shows the
involvement of stakeholders, decision making process, strategic alignment, challenges and
their resolution. This report also covers the role of innovation and collaboration.
MAIN BODY
TASK
Project description
Wembley stadium is largest stadium in UK and second largest stadium in Europe. It
was started in 2007 for conducting the matches of football (Ferdous and et. al., 2019).
Wembley stadium is conducting most attractive and biggest events in music, entertainment
and sports. It invites around 2 million visitors per year. It is reopened in May 2007 which
have 133m high arch. This is the reason for new landmark in London which is instantly
recognisable in over the entire world. It is identified that family is a home for football team
which conducts football association cup final and semi finals. It is identified that family takes
very seriously corporate responsibility and committed that they are operating both sustainably
and responsibility.
Wembley stadium required 90000 metre cube of concrete, 35 males of heavy duty
power cable and 23000t of steel. It also required 4000 separate files for making the
foundations (Blog Admin, 2017). The roof of the stadium rises 52 metre above pitch and one

kilometre for the circumference. The construction of Wembley stadium was began in 2003.
The construction was delayed by 2 years because they have not enough financial assistance to
complete the construction. There are some important things which are mentioned below
related to the Wembley stadium.
Stakeholders
Wembley stadium stakeholders involve the Football Association, Department of
Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, the London development agency, audiences,
sponsors, etc (Agyekum-Mensah and Knight, 2017). They are the main important
stakeholders which actively participated in the events of Wembley stadium. The operations
are mentioned below:
 The Football Association is the governing body of England which particularly
associated with the football founded in 1863. It is responsible for all regulatory work
especially for the game of football in England. Wembley national stadium limited
which is the company that is fully owned subsidiary of The Football Association.
They are taking every decision related to the events at Wembley stadium.
 Department of culture and media sport is the sponsoring department of sport England
which provides around 20 million pounds funds forest stadium project. They provide
contribution for non stadium infrastructure in improvements in Wembley stadium.
 Sport England department is focused on the development of sports in England which
is the government agency. They provide 120 million pounds lottery grant funds to old
Wembley stadium.
 London development agency is one of the important agencies in England which is
mainly focus on economic development that contribute 21 million pounds for this
project.
Strategic alignment
For this big project it is very necessary for them that they should adopt a strategic
alignment which is the process that focuses on organisation structures and use of resources.
Strategic alignment helps each member and team in the company to create value for
customers, owners, community, workers, etc (Hough and Lawson, 2019). For the
construction of Wembley stadium it becomes necessary that they make a strategy and align
with their program, environment, etc. Wembley focused on three things that our goals, plans,

and actions. So they found that strategic alignment helps to inform people and providing
direction for doing best practices. Strategic alignment helps to manage risk and opportunity.
In simple terms strategic alignment is the process where all workers are working with
business units, teams, department, individuals which connect all efforts for over arcing goals
and objectives.
Decision- making
Decision making process is the process that Wembley stadium was taken for
accomplishing their goals and objectives (Tsz Wai and et. al., 2021). At every stage in the
project management they need to take a decision that was well buy Wembley stadium. Some
important decisions that took by Wembley stadium are mentioned below:
 Quality: It is the most famous and largest stadium in the world that very sure to
provide quality work (Olawale, Oyedele and Owolabi, 2020). For that purpose,
Wembley stadium took a decision for using best material in the construction of
project which provides best services to consumers. This is the reason that why every
audience is like about Wembley stadium.
 Cost: The construction cost for Wembley stadium was very high as it was the biggest
and largest stadium that covers a large portion of land area. For construction of
building they make a budget around 352 million pounds. The total project cost was
757 million pounds. So the final cost that they found was approximate 800 million
pound. It was huge investment that becomes the reason for delaying of construction.
 Delivery: the stadium was started in May 2007 where the construction was start in
2003 which was delayed by 2 years. After delaying of 2 years they get contribution
from various stakeholders for the starting of their project.
Challenges in the project
The project was very big and that's why it was not easy for the company and the
football association to complete the project at time (Al-Buenain, Al-Muhanadi and Falamarzi,
2020). They faced many challenges in the process of construction. All challenges of project
are mentioned below:
 Cash flow problems: There are many delays was found in this project which
increasing cost since December 1996. The construction should have completed in
2003 but it was delayed because of many political and financial problems.

 Design changes: It was found that the initial designs but not correct, coordinated,
consistent and constructible. That's why multiplex argued for Wembley steel work
that was focus on Mott MacDonald design. Due to this, they change their design idea.
 Health and safety problems: It was found that in the construction of Wembley
stadium a temporary roof support fell on all construction workers (Panchal and et. al.,
2021). In 2004 there was another accident which resulting the death of one
construction worker and gives injuries to many other person.
 Poor performance: It was identified that Sports England was not effectively
supervised as they were lack in monitoring. That's why government was less happy
what the activities of Sports England are. It was also found that Cleveland bridge
continuously delay which shows the poor performance.
 Disputes and disagreements: Cleveland Bridge did not believe that day got payment
for materials so that's why the Steel contractor terminated contract in 2004.
 Poor planning and organisation: These all things were happened because of poor
planning and organisation. It was found that there was taking lot of decisions very
hastily and because of that they would adopt changes at last stages.
Problems encountered
All problems which are mentioned above should have been solving because if it
would not be solved then they cannot construct a Wembley stadium (Sidney and et. al). For
that purpose project management play the very important role in order to resolve all these
problems. It is the application of skills, techniques, knowledge and tools which are required
in project activities in order to achieve project requirements. For that purpose project
management took some corrective actions that are mentioned below:
 Project cost management: for managing cost of project, the project manager took a
corrective action in which the estimated the cost of all resources for making a budget
(Chertian, 2020). It becomes very helpful for a project that they got a realistic
estimate cost.
 Site management: they found that the cause of delay in construction project was poor
site management and supervision. That's why they gave focus on site management in
order to identify and all activities which are continuously performing or not. They
also found the reason of poor site management was they were poorly managed as the
delivery of Steel pieces was very wrong order.

 Project communication management: it is one of the most important process which
ensures the timely and appropriately collection, storage, disposition, dissemination,
and generation of project information. Project management was created a smooth
communication between all parties so that they can reduce misunderstandings.
From the above discussion, it is analysed at construction project is not easy for
anyone because there are many challenges which can be occurred in the process of
construction. Project management is the only way that helps to reduce or overcome with the
challenges that construction company’s face.
Role of innovation and collaboration
For a construction company it becomes very necessary that they should focus on
innovation in their building so that it attracts every person. It is found that Wembley stadium
is one of the best examples of innovations (Wentzel, 2018). They provide innovative masonry
solutions with the help of three "C"s to construction industry. That three "C"s are create,
challenge, and construct. They are always focuses on adopting process innovation which is
the application of new technology in the organisation to remain competitive and develop
ability to make customers demand. In the case of Wembley stadium, they are always creating
or develop some new innovation in their stadium so that they can remain best in the world.
It is also identified that innovation can become effective only when the team is
working in collaboration. The success and growth of a project is only depends on the
innovation and team collaboration. Team collaboration is the activity where every member of
a group is working on a same purpose or a common goal. For the effectiveness of project it is
necessary that Construction Company should make sure about coordination between
construction workers. Wembley stadium was a large project which includes heavy number of
workers. That's why it was important for them that they should work in collaborative working
conditions.
Process innovation
Process innovation is the introduction of new technologies in the organisation which
always assist them to remain competitive and able to make consumers expectations and
demands (Ramanayaka and Sutrisna, 2017). Process innovation is the process where
organisation tries to solve their existing problems with different ways. It is identifying that
process innovation is very different from incremental innovation in terms of size and scope.

Incremental innovation generates limited values whereas process innovation creates a game
changing shift. It is the combination of skills, facilities, and technologies in order to produce,
support, and deliver a product or service. It is mainly concerned with the changes in
technologies and equipment which are used in manufacturing. It also includes improvement
in tools and techniques with software solutions so that they can able to make a good supply
chain and delivery system. It helps in accounting customer service. There are some important
points which should be considered in the process innovation. All below points are should be
kept in mind by every construction project:
 Innovation is wide concept which includes product, service, and process. It is very
important for Construction Company that they should focus on generating new ideas
so that they can create competitiveness in the market.
 It is very obvious that application of innovation in construction industry is not a easy
part or straight forward. In the case of Wembley stadium, the construction is not very
easy because it was a big project (Brockmann, 2020). There are many activities which
involves in the Wembley stadium project. Activities include allocation of resources,
funds arrangement, latest technologies, etc. It is found that the project was based on
new latest technologies.
 The Wembley stadium construction project used many innovations in their stadium
such as they use steel. But it is not easy for installing Steel wind post and that's why
Wembley innovation originated. They know that they have to provide better structural
support for reducing the workload. They also provide support in order to use steel in
the construction of Wembley stadium.
 It is found in the case of Wembley stadium that it shows the benefits of implementing
right technology during design. Wembley stadium is heavily relying on technological
innovation because it helps them to meet customer demand. For that purpose they
need a single network which was developed by Wembley stadium.
 The use process innovation in which the change the technology of transferring Steel
in the construction of stadium. The requirement of Steel was very high and because of
that they need a technology which can make this process easy.
 Process innovation helps them to improve the process of constructing stadium. The
use better process for providing Steel to the stadium.
Initiatives adopted for supporting team collaboration

Team collaboration is necessary for every type of organisation especially for
Construction Company. In the construction company they make many projects which include
a number of workers (Bryan and et. al., 2017). The success of project it is only depending on
the team collaboration of workers. That means if workers are not agree with each other then
they can create many issues such as dispute, disagreements, etc. With these issues a company
cannot able to accomplish their project within time period. It can be very clear from the case
study of Wembley stadium that they were already suffering from poor supervision which
creates many conflicts between workers. Due to this, the construction was become very tough
for Wembley stadium. This is the reason that why companies need to take initiatives for
adopting team collaborations in the organisation. Companies have many options which help
them to enhance the awareness of team collaboration in organisation. There are some
initiatives mentioned below which helps company to build a collaborative working
conditions. Some initiatives are mentioned below:
 Leadership: Leadership plays a very important role in the organisation as it always
motivates employees to work in a collaborative working manner. With the help of
leadership a company can easily encourage employees to work in collaboration
(Aliheidarloo, 2020). For that purpose, leader should be creative and self motivated
that always creates a situation where every worker need to work with other
employees. It can be become more effective if a leader give examples to the
employees about importance of team collaboration. It right to give examples which
shows the effectiveness of team collaboration.
 Training and development program: It is the most effective way that increases the
awareness of collaboration in new employees. Training and development program
provide coaching to the new recruiters that they should be work in a team
collaboration. With the help of training and development program every employee
can able to understand the importance of team collaboration. Team collaboration is
not only helpful for organisation but also it is very necessary for employees. Training
helps employees that team collaboration makes the performance good and they can
easily achieve organisation as well as personal goals and objectives.
 Workplace environment: This is the method or way that promotes team collaboration
in the organisation. For that purpose company need to give some additional spaces for
collaborations such as casual sitting areas, meeting rooms, etc. It becomes very
beneficial if team numbers can interact with each other in these meetings. They get a

chance to know each other in a better way. Company can also provide some informal
meetings such as parties.
 Communicate company's goal: It is important for the organisation that they should
convey company goals effectively to the employees so that they can understand what
they have to do. It becomes necessary for a common goal that company needs to
communicate with employees about their goals. If employees get to know the goals
then they can ready for working in collaboration manner.
 Benefits to employees: Companies need to take an appropriate initiative for giving the
knowledge of team collaboration benefits for employees (Christie, 2018). The try to
explain the importance of team collaboration for employees. Team collaboration is
very beneficial for employees as they can increase their productivity and performance
which helps them to promote in the organisation. If organisation explaining the
importance of team collaboration to employees then they can achieve their objectives.
 Communication: It is the best way for organisation to integrate the individual goal
with organisational goal. With the help of communication employees are able to share
their problems and difficulties with the company. Communication is a two way
process in which one person tells about their problems and another person give them
replies. With the help of two way communication process, company can take a
feedback from the employees that what they are thinking about organisation.
Employees can easily share their problems and get solution from the company which
helps them to work in team collaboration.
From the analysis of team collaboration and innovation it is very clear that both play a
very important role in the construction project. Construction Company can easily achieve
their goals and objectives with the help of team collaboration and innovation.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above discussion that project management is the
necessary or essential process for construction companies. It is analysed that for
accomplishment of goals and objectives construction companies made up plan in which they
involve stakeholders, and other necessary things. They also focus on strategic alignment
which gives benefit to every person who involved in the project. It also covers decision
making for important activities that should be considered in the project management. Project

management is mainly considered a process that helps organisations to accomplish their
targets. This report also covers the role of innovation and collaboration.

REFERENCES
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Data-Driven Construction Tools to Manage the Triple Constraints.
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Megaprojects. John Wiley & Sons.
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518.
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Ramanayaka, C. D. and Sutrisna, M., 2017. Securing clients' objectives throughout
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