Tottenham Hotspur F.C has delayed the opening of its new stadium.
Following the release of the Premier League fixtures for the 2018/19 season, Spurs announced that, barring any significant issues with the final stages of stadium completion, the teams match against Liverpool on 15 September 2018 would be the first match in the new stadium. However, recent testing and commissioning have shown issues with critical safety systems.
Urgent follow-up meetings with Mace and the trade contractors are now taking place. The club has stated on its website it is “reviewing the situation and planned timetable to rectify and re-test, after which we shall be in a better position to outline a revised timetable.”
The delays created by these difficulties mean the club can no longer hold the necessary Test Events on 27 August and 1 September, which will now be rescheduled to take place ahead of any first official match at the new stadium in order to achieve a safety licence.
Tottenham Hotspur’s upcoming Premier League matches against Liverpool (15 September 2018) and Cardiff City (6 October 2018) will be switched to Wembley, as will the NFL match scheduled for 14 October 2018.
Chairman, Daniel Levy, said: “We know this will be disappointing for all our season tickets holders, premium members and our fans worldwide. We appreciate the support our partner the NFL has shown since the extent of this issue became evident today. 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.”
Mark Waller, NFL Executive Vice-President, International, added: “Everyone has been so excited about the prospect of playing in the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and I know all at the Club are very disappointed, but determined to clear this final hurdle. We totally understand the issue. We shall continue to work with them towards making our future games at Spurs a huge success. The new stadium will be an amazing venue for the NFL and we are very excited about our long-term partnership with Tottenham Hotspur.”
Both domestic and European cup game venues will be determined following discussions with the relevant organising bodies.
