Soccer: Wembley development back on track
Wembley Stadium could be rebuilt with a removable athletics track - three years after the idea was deemed unworkable.
If the current proposal is adopted, the project would be restored to the original vision of a national stadium which could stage football, athletics and rugby league.
Wembley National Stadium Limited chairman Sir Rodney Walker has revealed he expects the athletics track scheme to get the go-ahead.
He said: ‘‘Sport England and their advisors are doing their investigation into viability.
‘‘I’m expecting them to give it their endorsement. I would not expect any reason to anticipate that it won’t be approved by Sport England.’’
The scheme to rebuild Wembley has already exceeded its original budget and is four years behind schedule.
The contract for the construction of the stadium in north London is now set at £498m (€807m), an increase of £172m (€279m) on the bid which was originally accepted in October 2000.
The increased cost is believed to be due to the design and installation costs of a platform system allowing a removable track to be built above ground level for athletics events as well as finance and administration costs incurred while the project has been delayed.
Walker continued: ‘‘The platform system for the new Wembley is different to the one unveiled two years ago.
‘‘It’s a simpler design capable of being installed in about a quarter of the time.
‘‘It has a much lower cost and is already being used for the staging of outdoor events.
‘‘It’s very simple to install because it is prefabricated and does not require any major construction.
‘‘It allows Wembley to become a multi-purpose stadium that is capable of staging athletics.’’
The move would mean the company set up by the Football Association to redevelop Wembley would not have to pay back any of the £120m (€194m) lottery money it was given to buy the land for the project.
When athletics was dropped, WNSL was asked to pay back £20m (€32m) of the grant - but this change means it will not have to do so.
However, converting the stadium from a football to an athletics venue results in the loss of nearly 20,000 seats, bringing the capacity down to 72,000 - 3,000 fewer than the International Olympic Committee’s current minimum size for a main stadium.
But Walker added: ‘‘Five weeks into the new year everything has been going as well as we could have expected.
‘‘At this stage we remain on course to meet the government’s deadline to complete everything by the end of April, starting work in the summer.
‘‘We are hoping to open the stadium in autumn 2005. My optimism continues to grow.’’
