Spurs close in on Wembley stadium move for 2017/18 campaign

Tottenham Hotspur are close to a deal to play Premier League games at Wembley in the 2017/18 campaign and are looking at staging Champions League matches there next season, FA chairman Greg Dyke said on Thursday.

FA Chairman Greg Dyke
FA Chairman Greg Dyke

Spurs will have a reduced capacity of about 32,000 next season due to building work and the club said they are discussing options to meet UEFA stadium requirements with Champions League qualification close to being assured.

The north London club need to find a home for the season after next while white Hart Lane is demolished and they erect a new 400 million pounds 61,000-seat stadium on the site.

Rivals Chelsea have also shown interest in using Wembley for up to three years, Dyke said, while they build a new 60,000-seat stadium at Stamford Bridge.

Dyke said he would welcome Tottenham and Chelsea playing at Wembley, saying it made sense for all parties concerned with the FA hoping to use the extra income for grassroots football.

"We're certainly in discussions with Spurs that they should come in for a full season when they're rebuilding their stadium. We're a long way down the path with reaching an agreement," Dyke, who has a few months left as chairman, told Sky Sports.

"We're in discussions about them playing their Champions League games there at Wembley next year but I don't know much about that. On the full season, I think we're quite close to a deal."

Spurs are all but assured of finishing at least third in the Premier League, which brings an automatic Champions League spot, given a superior goal difference over fourth-placed Manchester City, who are six points behind with two games to play.

Local rivals Arsenal played Champions League games at Wembley in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons before the national stadium was completely rebuilt and reopened in 2007.

Chelsea submitted plans in December to redevelop their Stamford Bridge ground, which holds just over 41,000. British media said that work on the new stadium would start in the 2017/18 season.

"I think Chelsea might come for a longer period (than Spurs) because they have really exciting plans for Stamford Bridge and may demolish the whole thing and build a whole new stadium on the existing site and if they can that would mean them coming for three years."

A statement on the Spurs website (www.tottenhamhotspur.com) said they are looking at the possibility of playing Champions League games away from White Hart Lane next season to comply with UEFA stadium requirements.

There will be a reduced capacity at the current ground next term because construction work on their new stadium will affect a corner at the north end of White Hart Lane meaning the loss of about 4,000 seats out of just over 36,000.