Tottenham Hotspur have until the end of the month to decide whether to use Wembley as their home for next season, a decision that apparently rests on whether they think their new home ground will be ready to use in 2018-19. They will have to spend the final year of construction away from the current White Hart Lane, but if the build is delayed, that final year won’t yet be next season.
Regardless, Wembley have enticed the move by approving Spurs’ request for a full slate of home matches at full capacity. Local regulations had allowed for a small number of matches at the full 90,000 capacity (all used up by the English national team as well as the various Cup competitions) and a practically unlimited number of games at a reduced 50,000 capacity.
Tottenham granted permission to play home games at Wembley at full 90,000 capacity next season https://t.co/YujSPA6xOO
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) March 23, 2017
On Thursday, Brent Council passed the proposal by a 5-to-1 margin, which now means that Wembley can host an additional 27 matches with all three tiers of the stadium open. That should be more than enough to cover Spurs’ Premier League and Champions League campaigns, while the Council hinted that further accommodations could be made if Spurs end up with more home matches in the League Cup and FA Cup.
Whether Spurs use Wembley next season or the season after, the Council’s willingness to allow full capacity home matches should bode well for Chelsea if (when?) we move to Wembley once work on the new Stamford Bridge begins. Ideally, that will be in 2018-19, so hopefully Spurs’ don’t delay and get theirs done next season.
Meanwhile, if you need a refresher of where Chelsea’s rebuild of Stamford Bridge stands, check out this lovely video from uMAXit Football and friend of the blog Dan Levene.