MPs to quiz FA over Wembley sale... in July!
THE FA will be grilled by MPs on the potential £1billion sale of Wembley — but not for another 10 weeks. As predicted by Sportsmail, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee announced yesterday that they will be staging a public hearing on July 18, further delaying the bid for the stadium by PakistaniAmerican billionaire Shahid Khan.
Labour MP Kate Hoey, a former sports minister, blasted the delay, insisting the issue should be dealt with as a matter of urgency.
She said: ‘It’s ridiculous. It should be done immediately as a very quick, one-off, two-day hearing.
‘It should be long before July, the stable doors will have closed by then. I am very disappointed that the select committee is not seeing this as an urgent inquiry which wouldn’t need to take very long. I would urge members to look again at bringing this forward.’
The one-off evidence session will give MPs a chance to scrutinise publicly the future of Wembley and English football, and assess any risks if the stadium is sold. More than £160million of public money went into the construction of the stadium.
Although the Government and Sport England have given provisional support to the proposed sale, committee chairman Damian Collins said it was necessary to look closely at the deal the FA are considering.
Tracey Crouch MP and representatives from Sport England — who awarded a £120m Lottery Grant — have also been invited to the July meeting, at which written evidence from interested parties will be examined with regards to the following questions:
What risks would be incurred by the sale of Wembley Stadium?
What benefits would be derived?
If the sale goes ahead, how should the proceeds be used?
What impact would the sale have on English football’s future?
Collins said: ‘Wembley is the home of English football, built in part using public money.
‘There should be some public scrutiny of any decision to sell and how proceeds could be invested to benefit the long-term future of the game.’ Sportsmail revealed yesterday that any sale could be restricted for another 40 years, due to a series of protections secured by the public funders during construction. The FA understand their importance and will disclose details of the deal to DCMS and Sport England in a private meeting soon to see if there is a way they could be retained if the stadium is sold. If it is not considered feasible to retain the protections under new ownership, the Khan deal will not go ahead. FA chairman Greg Clarke has committed to spending the proceeds of any sale on grassroots football facilities, including 1,500 new pitches, drainage systems and floodlighting. An FA spokesman said: ‘It’s an opportunity to talk about the future of the stadium, gain input from key stakeholders and discuss our thorough review process of the offer. ‘ We welcome the offer to take part in an open discussion with the Select Committee for DCMS.’