Tottenham Hotspur confirmed on Friday that it will be playing all of its home games at Wembley Stadium next season "while White Hart Lane is demolished and a new stadium built in its place," according to Jack Pitt-Brooke of the London INDEPENDENT. That has "long been the plan" at Tottenham but "only after a board meeting" Friday could Chair Daniel Levy give his approval that the building of the new 61,000-capacity stadium is "on track to open" in Aug. '18. This means that the club will only have one more game at White Hart Lane "in this form": against ManU on May 14. While "plans for an emotional farewell had been put on ice" until Friday's announcement, the club confirmed a "raft of measures" to mark its departure from its traditional home. There will be a "Farewell Ceremony" for the ManU game, while "White Hart Lane season ticket-holders will be given the chance to purchase their plastic seat." The club's new stadium will be "adjacent to the current ground but will hold far more people and promises modern features" including a one-tier "kop"-type stand behind one goal (INDEPENDENT, 4/28). The BBC reported Tottenham played its Champions League and Europa League ties at Wembley this term but won just one of four games. Levy said, "This is an incredibly exciting time in the history of the club. Wembley will be our home for a season and then we will return to what will be one of the best stadiums of its kind and the most unique in the world playing host to NFL (American football) games too -- a stadium that will be key to our future growth and success." The new stadium is expected to cost £750M ($970.5M) but "will create about 3,500 jobs in the area when it is finished," according to the club (BBC, 4/28).
