Tuesday 23 October 2018

Will Spurs' stadium safety woes stop Quintain meeting Euro 2020 deadline for installation of the Wembley Stadium steps?


I understand that doubts are developing over whether Quintain will be able to deliver the Stadium Steps that will replace the Pedway in time for the first Wembley Euro 2020 game scheduled for June 14th 2020. It was also hoped that they would be in place for Brent's Borough of Culture 2020. LINK

It is feared that the already tight timetable will be adversely affected if Tottenham Hotspur's move to their new stadium is further delayed and their use of Wembley Stadium pushes into 2019.

The Independent reported today on the Spurs delays LINK:
Tottenham Hotspur are facing another crunch week in their attempts to move into the new White Hart Lane before Christmas.

Tottenham are currently aiming to move into the new 61,000 seater stadium for their match against Burnley on 15 December, three months after the initial target of the Liverpool game on 15 September. But they will only be able to do so if they can complete crucial work on the stadium’s fire safety systems in time for the two test events they have planned.

Before the Burnley game Tottenham have ‘home’ matches against Chelsea on Saturday 24 November and Southampton on 5 December. Those matches are officially listed as occurring at the new White Hart Lane but Tottenham are expected this week to announce that they will also be switched to Wembley, where Spurs have been playing their ‘home’ games since the start of last season. Tottenham insist that nothing has been decided yet, but that it will be announced as soon as they know.


After the Chelsea and Southampton fixtures are confirmed as moved focus will be on whether the new stadium will be ready for a pre-Christmas opening. Before the stadium can open it must receive its safety certificates, which Haringey Council will only grant after two successful test events. The first test event – pencilled in for late November – would be for a capacity of up to 30,000 people. The second, which Spurs hoped to be in early December, would be for a capacity of up to 48,000.


But those test events cannot take place until the safety systems are ready. Daniel Levy told a meeting of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust earlier this month that the stadium would have been ready for the Liverpool game were it not for the safety issues. The view at Tottenham is that the Liverpool game was a realistic target, but that they have been let down by certain contractors.


Ultimately Tottenham do not have to tell the Football Association whether they will need Wembley for the Burnley game until early next month. But if they do not open the new ground with that match then they may delay the opening until the arrival of Manchester United on 13 January. Spurs are due to host Bournemouth on Boxing Day and Wolverhampton Wanderers on 29 December, although there is a reluctance inside the club to open the new stadium for either of those games because of the logistical concerns associated with that time of year.




5 comments:

Jaine Lunn said...

In response to your question, I do hope so, I think the steps are a total waste of money, and of no benefit to ordinary residents.

Philip Grant said...

I've just seen a report on the BBC website, saying Tottenham matches will be played at Wembley until the end of the year (with no date yet fixed for the first Spurs home game at their new stadium):

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45998196

Anonymous said...

Are all these extra Spurs games counting against Wembley's annual quota of full stadium capacity events, or are they being restricted to the lower tiers, with smaller maximum crowd size?

Philip Grant said...

Dear Anonymous (27 October at 14:39):

I don't know the full answer to your question, but it looks as though most of the Spurs "home" games at Wembley this season are being treated as "full capacity" (up to 90,000) events.

This is a "quote" on a Spurs website, explaining why the crowd for the game at the stadium against Cardiff City on 6 October was only 43,000:-

'Spurs issued the following statement on the matter:
“Given the restriction on the number of events that can be staged at full capacity at Wembley Stadium, and with our game against Manchester City on October 29 and all three of our group stage Champions League matches planned at full capacity, supporters are advised that our game against Cardiff City on October 6 will be limited in capacity.”

Jaine Lunn said...

Having secured Free tickets to Man City (my team) v Spurs on Monday. I am not complaining being in the Gods seating. I will cheer on our home boy Raheem Sterling and despite freezing cold will enjoy seeing them get beaten.