Sources project the final bill for Tottenham's new stadium to be roughly £1.2B.GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham believes it can complete its new stadium for under £1B ($1.3B), "despite the rising cost of delays and gloomy predictions of construction experts," according to Matt Law of the London TELEGRAPH. Sources within the construction industry claim Tottenham faces a bill in the region of £1.2B ($1.5B) to complete its new stadium because of delays and the fact Chair Daniel Levy did not negotiate a fixed-price deal with contractor Mace. Had Levy managed to sign a fixed-price contract for the delivery of Tottenham's stadium, which had been valued at £850M ($1.11B), then it would have been Mace and not the club which would have paid for any delays and the additional associated costs. Tottenham has yet to put a completion date on the new stadium, but it is "unlikely to be ready until the New Year and there have even been claims the team might not move into it until next season." One construction expert said that the club faces a final bill of around £1.2B, putting the project more than £300M ($392.3M) over budget, but the club disputes this (TELEGRAPH, 9/21).
WEMBLEY RENT: In London, Matt Hughes reported Tottenham "will have to pay the FA rent for the entire season" if it wants to stage matches at Wembley beyond its home game against Burnley on Dec. 15. In addition to Champions League fixtures against Barcelona, PSV Eindhoven and Inter Milan, the club secured the right to move the Premier League games against Chelsea, Southampton and Burnley to Wembley "if there are further delays" to the opening of the new stadium, although that option has yet to be activated. The club has also held talks with the FA about extending its stay at Wembley even further, a request that the governing body is "willing to accommodate," but only if the club commits to paying rent for the whole of the campaign. Until now, the FA has been "willing to adopt a piecemeal approach to Tottenham’s tenancy," but with the pitch due to be relaid and work on the demolition of the external pedestrian walkway scheduled for early next year, it "needs certainty over how the stadium will be used next year" (LONDON TIMES, 9/22).
MORE BAD NEWS: Hughes also reported Tottenham "suffered further embarrassment" over the delayed opening, with the publication of a detailed report into the building project that alleged "physical altercations between builders and the use of alcohol and cocaine by contractors on the site." Construction News reported a "chaotic picture of the project," including several accounts of workers being under the influence of alcohol and cocaine. Mace "strongly denies the claims" (LONDON TIMES, 9/21).
