September 27 – The £600 million sale of England’s Wembley stadium, the home of the national team, hangs in the balance as the FA board meets today to vote on whether to take the proposal forward to the 127-member FA Council.
Terms for a sale to US billionaire and Fulham owner Shahid Khan reportedly includes a ban on stadium title rights sponsor, residency for the FA Cup final and major internationals and a share of the profit ofany on-sale of the stadium if it was more than the purchase price.
But Khan, who is expected to move his Jacksonville Jaguars NFL franchise to London if the deal goes through, would have first call on the stadium for NFL games if they conflicted with England matches, which would be played at other venues around the country.
The FA says that it would plough the money into grassroots facilities having previously stated that one in three pitches in a recent inspection were not up to the standards they want and that this is a major block to the development of the game at higher levels.
Wembley Stadium was rebuilt at a cost of £757million 20 years ago. Sport England, the Mayor’s London Development Agency and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are all reported to have agreed to the draft terms.
If the FA board agree to the proposal it will go before the FA’s council next month.
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