Daily Mail

More than a decade to fix Wembley roof

- Charles Sale

WEMBLEY needs significan­t repairs to its roof that could take at least 10 years to complete.

The faults, in a roof built in 2007, first became obvious in 2013, when the sealant on the metal roof sheeting began to leak. A decision was taken to replace all the sheeting. Work began in 2015 but has had to be done around Wembley’s events.

Nearly two years on, only 14 per cent of the job has been completed, with more defects requiring attention discovered during the installati­on process. At the current rate of progress, the roof work will not be finished until close to the end of the next decade. And the time available for work will shrink in August when Tottenham start a season at Wembley, possibly followed by Chelsea.

An FA spokeswoma­n said the roof repairs being done by specialist cladding constructo­rs were taking such a long time due to the restrictio­ns on when the work can be done. The cost will run into millions of pounds, but the insurers of original stadium contractor­s, Brookfield Multiplex, will pay a significan­t amount.

THE FA won’t risk today’s FA Cup final kicking off late, as last year’s did due to the pre-match build-up being too ambitious — Tinie Tempah’s stage had to be dismantled. So there’s no music act this year and more focus on the traditiona­l

Abide With Me. ED WOODWARD has received plenty of stick from the media since becoming executive vice- chairman of Manchester United. Yet when Woodward (right) discovered the 11-year- old daughter of one of the United press pack had been caught up in the suicide bomb atrocity, he offered any support the family needed, including a seat on the United team flight back from the Europa League final in Stockholm so that dad could get home quicker. Not all clubs would have showed such a caring attitude.

FORMER world heavyweigh­t champion Lennox Lewis, who has kept a low profile since retiring from boxing in 2004 — except when seen presenting Sports Personalit­y trophies to Andy Murray in Miami — has a new project. Lewis is setting up a training camp in Jamaica, where he and members of his old team will train white-collar boxers.

 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom