By Mark Baber
October 21 – Whilst West Ham poured cold water on media reports Upton Park could serve as Tottenham’s replacement stadium whilst White Hart Lane is rebuilt, Martin Glenn, CEO of the Football Association, reaffirmed that the FA would be as “helpful as we can” in enabling a Wembley ground share for Chelsea and Tottenham.
A media report suggesting Tottenham could move into Upton Park as the plans for the redevelopment of the stadium were likely to be rejected by Newham Council as they make insufficient provision for affordable housing, quickly elicited a statement from West Ham saying: “Following a story published online on Tuesday evening which stated Tottenham Hotspur could use the Boleyn Ground after West Ham have moved out, vice-chairman Karren Brady would like to confirm that, as a condition of the sale, she put a covenant on the ground which prevents any other football club from using it as their home ground or playing matches there without the express permission of West Ham United.
“Therefore, this categorically rules out any other football team, including Tottenham Hotspur, from using the ground to play football matches unless the Board of West Ham United gives them permission to do so.”
The article also suggested Chelsea’s determination not to share Wembley with Spurs had boosted the chance that Spurs would have to temporarily leave London for Milton Keynes – an unpopular option for Spurs fans.
A recent on-line survey of Tottenham fans found the majority were in favour of a move to Wembley, despite a determined attempt by Arsenal fans to skew the poll in favour of Milton Keynes.
In a wide-ranging interview, FA Chief Martin Glenn was keen to emphasise that despite both clubs preferring “sole status” a Wembley ground share was still very much in the running, telling TalkSport, “Building in London is a nightmare and they both have ambitious plans – the question is what they do in the interim.”
“Both would prefer sole status somewhere but it’s difficult. We are looking at whether we could get a ground share but there’s still work that needs to be done.
“There are other obligations at Wembley with other sporting events, so there is some work to say is it theoretically possible but we are here to try to be as helpful as we can.”
The FA will still need to secure local authority permission for a ground share to go ahead but it seems clear the Wembley option is very much on the table.
In his interview Glenn also suggested the FA were keen to ensure some England home matches were played outside of London.
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