Tottenham matched Chelsea’s offer to make Wembley its temporary home "in a bid that could result in the London rivals sharing the national stadium for one season," according to Matt Law of the London TELEGRAPH. Chelsea was "hopeful of securing exclusivity of Wembley while Stamford Bridge is redeveloped by submitting a four-year bid," thought to be worth around £15M ($21M)-a-season, that would have left Spurs facing the prospect of moving to Milton Keynes for the '17-18 campaign. But Tottenham "responded by matching Chelsea’s offer for one season" and there is growing optimism that may be enough to convince the FA to inform Chelsea that it will have to share Wembley if it needs to relocate in the summer of '17. A deal to house both Tottenham and Chelsea could earn the FA as much as £75M ($106M) in total and would prevent any accusations of favoritism "or unfair treatment."
Tottenham has "always been open to the prospect of sharing Wembley" and has pushed its case with the FA, but has not negotiated directly with Chelsea over the matter.
Chelsea "made a bid for exclusivity" because it does not want to make concessions over the '17-18 domestic and European fixture lists with Tottenham and believes it must sell Wembley as a more long-term prospect to its fans (TELEGRAPH, 1/18). In London, Tom Collomosse wrote Tottenham supporters "were angry that their club might move to Stadium MK, which is 53 miles away from White Hart Lane, and have strongly expressed a preference for Wembley." Although Tottenham would not confirm the news publicly, "it is likely to be welcomed" by its supporters (EVENING STANDARD, 1/19). Also in London, Oliver Todd wrote Wembley "is limited to 37 'major' events each year under the terms of an agreement with Brent Council."
However, an unlimited number of matches "could be held at Wembley if the attendance falls under 50,000 spectators."
That "would involve shutting the top tier and cutting off 40,000 seats but that would still offer Chelsea and Tottenham more than their current capacities at White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge" (DAILY MAIL, 1/19).
