Tottenham Hotspur have issued an update on the delay to their new $1.1 billion stadium at White Hart Lane.
Spurs were originally supposed to host their first game at their 62,000 capacity home on Sept. 15 against Liverpool but issues with the “critical safety systems” at the venue caused the delay.
[ STREAM: Watch every PL match live ]
With the Premier league home games with Liverpool and Cardiff already move to Wembley Stadium and their League Cup third round clash with Watford switched to Stadium MK, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has now issued a further update.
Tottenham’s upcoming PL clash with Manchester City will now be played on Oct. 29 at Wembley, with the game being moved back one day due to the NFL game taking place at Wembley between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The club also confirmed that all three UEFA Champions League group stage games this season, against Barcelona (Oct. 3), PSV Eindhoven (Nov. 6) and Inter Milan (Nov. 28), will be played at Wembley.
“We should like to apologise to both our and Manchester City fans for this fixture having to be moved to a weekday evening and any inconvenience caused. Despite the possibility that our new stadium could be ready to host this match, this would not be known until much closer to the date of the game,” Levy said. “We have therefore agreed with the Premier League that, in the interests of clarity and certainty, we shall confirm this game as taking place at this time at Wembley Stadium so that fans of both teams can now make travel arrangements accordingly.”
Levy issued an apology to Tottenham’s fans, while he also thanked the FA, Man City and the Premier League for their understanding of the situation.
“The consequences of not being able to open our new stadium on 15 September against Liverpool have been immense,” Levy continued. “Building a venue of this scale that is open to the general public is a huge undertaking. We are creating, in Tottenham, a unique world class stadium with pioneering technology and engineering. Amongst the consequences of the delay have been substantial additional costs, not least of which the need for alternative venue hire, along with the inconvenience for our fans and those of our opposition.
“I want to apologise once again and thank you all for your support, many of you have taken the time to write to us and commend what we are doing for the Club. When you face times like this in an organisation it’s teamwork and pulling together that gets you through.”
When could Spurs play their first game at their new home stadium?
It seems like November 24 against London rivals Chelsea would be the perfect time to open up the doors for the first time if all the tests go smoothly on the new venue. But if that is the case, then why wouldn’t they play their final UCL group stage game v Inter (Nov. 28) at the new stadium? It’s likely that UEFA would want a guarantee of the venue for all three Champions League games to even out the playing field, so to speak.
Whispers and rumors continue to suggest that Spurs may not be able to move into their new home until January 2019 at the earliest. That would mean more games at Wembley and that would be pretty easy to set up given that there will be no international games for England or NFL clashes throughout December and January.
Not an ideal situation at all for Spurs, but at least they have a very workable solution in Wembley.
