NO HOME TO GO TO
Stadium hold-ups hit Spurs’ City clash
TOTTENHAM are exploring the option of postponing their home match against Manchester City because of further stadium construction delays.
The London club have already put back the original opening date of their new £850million ground due to safety system problems.
The game against Liverpool on September 15 and their following home fixture against Cardiff on October 6 will now take place at Wembley, as will the NFL game between Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks, which was due to be held at the new White Hart Lane on October 14.
But now there are also major doubts that Tottenham’s home game against champions City, scheduled for October 28, will be staged at their new home.
Tottenham will not have the Wembley option if their ground is not ready as the NFL have booked the national stadium for the match between Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Spurs and Premier League officials have been in talks over how to resolve the problem.
Sportsmail understands the best option is for the clubs to agree a date which would allow the game to be played at Wembley.
It is unlikely that the Premier League would allow next month’s fixture to be reversed so it is played at City’s Etihad Stadium because that raises concerns over the integrity of the competition.
It would also see City play four of their final five league games away from home — putting them at a clear disadvantage. The switch would also mean Spurs playing four consecutive top-flight fixtures at home in April, which could cause logistical problems.
Another solution could see the game played at a different venue entirely — say Twickenham — but staging league home fixtures at three different grounds again raises questions about the integrity of the competition.
Talking about Spurs’ stadium move in 2015, Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore said: ‘They’d have to play in the same stadium for the entire year, for the integrity of the competition.
‘You can’t have 19 home games with 10 at Milton Keynes and nine at Wembley — completely unfair. That won’t be allowed.’
All parties hope the City game can take place at Tottenham’s new stadium but contingency plans are being worked out.
Confirming Tottenham’s decision to play at least three games at Wembley, a Premier League spokesman said: ‘When the club gained permission to use Wembley we told them to have a contingency ready to carry on playing at Wembley until absolutely certain about the new stadium.’
Earlier this summer, the League granted permission for Spurs to play this weekend’s home match against Fulham at Wembley. But they face a similar problem for the planned Champions League fixtures on October 23/24.
Tottenham would have to ask UEFA not to give them a home game that week because the NFL would already have started preparations for the game at Wembley on October 28.
The club yesterday apologised to fans for the stadium delay but confirmed plans to refund supporters who had planned to attend the Liverpool and Cardiff matches.
Kat Law, of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, said: ‘Most fans appreciate it was a very ambitious build programme but I think all they really wanted was to be kept up to date.’