Tottenham Hotspur has confirmed that it has received permission to continue playing home matches at Wembley Stadium – albeit at a reduced capacity.
Tottenham has been playing its home fixtures at Wembley while work on its new 62,000-seat stadium is carried out. The new stadium was due to be ready by September but continued delays have pushed back the opening date to 2019.
All of Tottenham’s remaining home games in 2018 will now be played at Wembley, starting with the match against Chelsea on November 24. The Chelsea match will be played at Wembley’s full capacity of 90,000, but thereafter the stadium will be capped at 51,000 unless otherwise advised.
The restriction has been imposed after a reduction in the number of full-capacity events available to Wembley National Stadium Ltd each year.
During the 2017-18 season, special dispensation was granted by Brent Council for WNSL to be permitted to increase the number of full-capacity events as Tottenham had always planned on spending the whole season at Wembley. The restrictions have been placed on the stadium this season due to the short notice amid continued delays at Tottenham’s new ground.
WNSL will submit a planning application to Brent Council for a variation on the cap for games in the event Tottenham requires them. The application would be for games to be played at a capacity of 62,000, with additional limited exceptions at 90,000.
Tottenham is expected to make a further update on the progress of the new stadium in early December. The home match against Manchester United on January 13 appears the most likely fixture to open the new ground, although that still may come too early.
Image: M(e)ister Eiskalt
