Tottenham apologized to fans and announced details of compensation after being urged to provide "transparent, clear communication" over the ongoing delay to open its new £800M ($1.01B) stadium, according to Jeremy Wilson of the London TELEGRAPH. The club announced on Monday that matches against Cardiff City and Liverpool in September and October, as well as an NFL fixture on Oct. 14, will take place at Wembley Stadium but there is "still no confirmed venue" for the fixture on Oct. 28 against Man City and no guarantees about other games later this year. Tottenham is also in dialogue with UEFA about where it will play its Champions League matches and whether the club could "potentially change venues later in the competition." UEFA rules state that a club "in principle" should play all of its matches at one venue. The Champions League group stage draw does not take place until Aug. 30 (TELEGRAPH, 8/14).
LONDON TIMES
'FAIR COMPENSATION': In London, Luke Brown reported the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust demanded "fair compensation" after news of the delay was made public, with fans "already having paid significantly increased prices" for their season tickets at the new stadium. A second statement confirmed refunds will be "made available." The statement said, "As two further matches of the new season will be played at Wembley -- on Saturday 15 September against Liverpool, kick-off 12.30pm, and on Saturday 6 October against Cardiff City, kick-off 3pm -- all those who have purchased season tickets at the new stadium will be credited 1/19th of the price you have paid for your 2018/19 season ticket for each fixture concerned. Full refund amounts for both Liverpool and Cardiff City will be placed into your eticket account automatically in the coming days" (INDEPENDENT, 8/14). The BBC reported the club had been in discussion with UEFA regarding a potential delay, even before Monday's announcement. A club statement said, "Delays are common, certainly for builds of this size and complexity, however we are hugely frustrated that this has occurred at such a late stage. Whilst we would have been able to mitigate other areas, we simply cannot compromise safety. This decision was unavoidable" (BBC, 8/14).
GIVE IT TIME: In London, Gary Jacob reported Tottenham activated a clause with the FA to be able to use Wembley until the end of the calendar year "if needed," for which it has paid a fee to the governing body. The FA said that it "needed clarity because it wanted to schedule other events at the venue in autumn." Tottenham said, "Recent testing and commissioning has now shown issues with the critical safety systems." Tottenham Chair Daniel Levy called on season ticket holders and supporters to "show patience." He said, "At the start of the project we asked for your support during what we knew would be a complex and challenging build and now we ask for your continued patience and forbearance. We appreciate the support our partner the NFL has shown since the extent of this issue became evident today" (LONDON TIMES, 8/14).
'BAD NEWS': Jacob also wrote it was "always going to be very ambitious" for Tottenham to build "such a state-of-the-art and complicated stadium in time for the start of this season." Fans understand that "lots of things can and do go wrong with new projects" and the club gave itself "very little leeway." From "day one there were rumours that it would not be ready on time and those suggestions accelerated during bad weather last winter." The club was adamant that the home game against Liverpool on Sept. 15 would be its first game at the new stadium and "ruled out the suggestion of moving Champions League games to Wembley." That assurance is "why many fans feel Spurs have not been transparent and believe that the club would not have made a statement had it not been leaked that they had activated a clause to use Wembley in the autumn if needed." THST co-Chair Martin Cloake said, "When people get asked to pay a lot of money they want to be given a full picture. Even if it is bad news. People have paid for a product that they will not be getting" (LONDON TIMES, 8/14).
