The new Wembley Stadium, which was supposed to be finished for this year’s FA Cup final, may not even be ready to stage the showpiece game in 2007.
The Australian construction firm heading the £757-million project said the first major event at Wembley was almost a year away.
”It is unlikely that the stadium will be able to hold a test event for 90 000 spectators before June 2007,” Multiplex said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.
However, the English Football Association said on Tuesday it still expects the 2007 FA Cup to be held at Wembley in May.
”The FA remains confident that Wembley Stadium can be ready for this season’s FA Cup final,” the FA said in a statement. ”This is of course dependent on when stadium constructors Multiplex meets all of its contractual obligations.”
The stadium owner, Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL), joined the FA in blaming Multiplex for the delays.
”WNSL believes it is unlikely that Multiplex will complete their work by September, but they continue to expect practical completion to take place before the end of 2006,” it said. ”We can also clarify that no plans have been made to book the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the FA Cup final.”
The Cardiff venue has staged the last six FA Cup finals while Wembley is being rebuilt.
The problem-plagued stadium was expected to be ready before last season’s FA Cup final in May, but a new timetable set September as the completion date.
Multiplex is incurring financial penalties for every day it fails to meet the original construction deadline.
Wembley Stadium looks ready for a soccer game, with the pitch laid and the goalposts erected. However, builders still have to finish the roof, fix the drainage network and install seats and safety systems.
Wembley has been plagued by problems since it was decided eight years ago to demolish the old stadium and build a new one. It had originally been scheduled to be finished by late 2005. — Sapa-AP