CURVEBALL FOR FA
They might not be able to sell stadium for next 40 years!
Sportsmail can reveal that the public bodies which contributed £161million to Wembley’s construction insisted upon a series of safeguarding measures to ensure the FA’s commitment to Wembley until 2057.
Unless those public interest protections can be retained or amended under new ownership, the £1billion deal to sell Wembley to Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan could be in jeopardy.
The FA were required to retain a controlling interest in Wembley National Stadium Ltd for 50 years once the stadium was completed in 2007. And informed sources The FA are facing a major stumbling block in their plans to sell Wembley, as it has emerged they agreed to Government ‘protections’ which sought to prevent the sale of the stadium for the next 40 years.
confirmed last night that if the protections cannot be maintained or revised in a deal to sell Wembley, that sale will not take place.
Labour MP Kate Hoey, who was Minister for Sport from 1999 to 2001, said last night: ‘I am not surprised that this clause was put in as there was controversy at the time about football getting so much money.
‘This just adds to the pressure on the Secretary of State to step in and say this cannot happen.’
The restrictions, including the FA retaining a controlling interest in Wembley National Stadium Ltd — the company with the sole purpose of owning and managing Wembley — are detailed in a National Audit Office report from 2003.
It is understood that these safeguarding measures, which were introduced to protect the public investment, are now a major point of discussion between the FA, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Sport England.
Sport England awardedarded a £120m Lottery Grantt to the project, while the he Government contributed - £20m and the London Development Agency £21m. Sport England and the DCMS will meet the FA to discuss the details of f the deal.
Khan, a Pakistaniani-American entrepreneur worth £5.2billion, is also said to be aware of the protections. Limitations were also put on the FA’s ability to sell a minority stake in Wembley National Stadium Ltd — with the FA unable to sell more than 15 per cent without agreement from the Secretary of State between 2018 and 2022.
Parliament’s DCMS select committee are now believed to be highly likely to call the FA in for a hearing. A DCMS spokesperson said: ‘Wembley has a special place in the heart of English football fans and it is important the FA listen to their views before coming to a decision.
‘We await more detail about the way in which such a deal would help the development of the game in this country from the grassroots up. We also want to be reassured that Wembley would remain the home of English football for generations to come.’
The Audit Office report into Wembley, which was ordered by the House of Commons in 2003, states: ‘In negotiating the deal, the public sector funders were concerned to safeguard the public interest by preventing the FA from appearing to profiteer, or destabilising the project, by taking windfall gains, including after refinancing.
‘This could leave the FA with no long-term capital commitment to the project and increase the risk of Wembley National Stadium Limited being left with insufficient funds to sustain the project.
‘So the public sector funders secured the following protections... The FA has to retain a controlling interest in Wembley National Stadium Limited for 50 years from completion of the stadium and its ability to sell a minority interest is limited — the sale of any minority interest earlier than 2018 requires approval from the Secretary of State and between 2018 and 2022 the FA can sell only up to 15 per cent without approval.’
All relevant parties are willing to discuss how Wembley could change hands with these protections continuing. However, the existence of the safeguards will fuel controversy about the proposed sale.
MPs have previously raised concerns about the future of the public interest in the stadium.
In a Public Accounts Committee meeting in 2003, Jon Trickett MP suggested Sport England had been ‘ripped off’ when making its contribution.
Yet Dame Sue Street, then permanent secretary of the DCMS, responded: ‘That money is the nation’s public money contribution to this but there are a lot of protections in place. All the protections are set out so what we have sought to do within the commercial realities is to say obviously those who have taken the big risk have to protect themselves.’
Khan has spoken publicly about his plans for Wembley, including the potential to install a new roof. He would like to stage more NFL games at the national stadium and look to make it the home of his Jacksonville Jaguars team.
He has, however, insisted that it would remain the home of English football and the FA have pledged to invest a considerable portion of any sale price in grassroots football. Although Khan suggested Wembley could be his within eight weeks, the deal is far from done and sources say it is still a long way off completion.
A Sport England spokesperson said: ‘Sport England invested £120m of National Lottery money into the development of Wembley Stadium.
‘We look forward to hearing more detail about how such a deal would work and whether it would benefit grassroots sport.’
The FA declined to comment but are well aware of the need for Government support.