SPURS OUTSTAY THEIR WELCOME

Wembley residents oppose extra games

BRENT COUNCIL are being urged to reject Tottenham’s application to play seven full- capacity matches at Wembley next year, with residents claiming the extra fixtures would be a nightmare due to rowdy fans and travel chaos.

Furious locals have said that they deliberately chose to live near the national stadium, not one occupied by a club, and that Tottenham’s stay at Wembley has already caused them significant inconvenience. The proposal to add up to 17 ‘major events’ to the calendar has been labelled ‘insidious’ and ‘not reasonable’. indeed, of the 15 comments submitted to the council’s website since the application to alter the Wembley event cap went live last week, 13 have been objections.

Tottenham are asking to play 10 matches in front of a 62,000capacity crowd — the same as their new stadium — and seven at the full Wembley capacity of 90,000 between January and May. if the plans are not approved, the match- day capacity would be capped at 51,000 due to strict conditions imposed on Wembley when it was first built.

The ill-feeling towards Tottenham’s latest request is similar to the negativity among many residents towards their successful request to use Wembley as their home ground for the 2017-18 season.

in these latest objections, Tottenham fans were accused of showing ‘no consideration’ to local residents on match days, including by blocking their driveways and being ‘noisy and inebriated’ in the surrounding streets. Meanwhile, the council and operators of Wembley were told they were ‘pushing their luck’ in considering the plans.

There is still a chance that Spurs will be able to move into their new stadium early next year, though they said they have submitted these plans as a contingency measure.