Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 7y

Tottenham permitted to use Wembley at full capacity next season

LONDON -- Tottenham have been given the green light to play next season's "home" matches in front of Wembley's full 90,000-capacity.

A Brent Council planning committee voted five to one in favour of the club's proposal to play an additional 22 matches at Wembley's full-capacity, following a heated meeting in the shadow of the stadium that lasted over three-and-a-half hours.

The focus now turns to whether Spurs will exercise the option to use Wembley as a temporary home next season while White Hart Lane is demolished and their new £800 million stadium is built.

Under the rules of Wembley's planning permission, the club could have played just five full-capacity matches there next season and the rest at a reduced capacity of 51,000 with the top-tier closed. They initially requested an additional 31 games before reducing that figure to 22, making 27 in total.

However, head of operations at Wembley Stadium Chris Bryant, arguing in favour of the proposal, suggested that any matches outside the quota of 27 could also be played at full-capacity, depending on scheduling. "Spurs will be the priority," Bryant told the committee.

Tempers flared at Brent Civic Centre, where residents and some councillors expressed concerns ranging from the impact of the proposal on local businesses to travel disruption, policing and anti-social behaviour on match-days. It was also repeatedly argued that the stadium was built to be a national venue, rather than for club use.

About 50 members of the public were in attendance and local residents made their feelings known throughout; one protestor, speaking on behalf on Wembley Heroes, a residents' group, was in tears.

Tottenham executive Donna-Maria Cullen, representing the club, and Bryant argued the proposal would be beneficial to the local area, particularly given the 'mitigation measures' that have already been implemented and will be implement by the club.

Cullen said Spurs had already delivered 65 community projects in Brent, while Spurs have been using the stadium for this season's European fixtures, and promised more to come, plus free tickets for residents.

She said Spurs will make Brent a home away from home, and said the atmosphere offered by a full stadium would contribute to that aim.

"Our new stadium will have 61,000 -- it will be full at 61k. Wembley is 90,000, at 51,000 it will be a half-empty stadium," Cullen told the committee.

Asked why Tottenham needed Wembley's full-capacity, when White Hart Lane holds 36,000 and their new home will seat 61,000, Cullen pointed to the club's attendances of over 80,000 for this season's three Champions League group games and the Europa League round-of-32 home leg against KAA Gent.

She also confirmed that Tottenham had considered other venues. "We had an exhaustive look at venues around the whole of the UK but London was our preferred option. On other venues, it came down to size.

"It is well publicised that we went for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. Given what has happened there since, our plan was the right one. We looked at MK Dons' Stadium," she said.

Michael Maurice, a Brent councillor on the planning committee who voted in favour of the proposal, summed up the debate shortly before the vote.

"I'm not sure I'm in a position to reach a conclusion. We, as a committee, are between a rock and a hard place," he said, admitting that approving the proposal would upset local residents but saying the Council would benefit from the mitigation measures offered by the club.

A Brent Council spokesperson said: "Wembley Stadium is a highly valued part of our borough bringing visitors from around the world. We are pleased that a balance has been struck between recognising the impact on local residents and businesses whilst enabling the Stadium to make good use of its facilities and support a London club to operate in the capital while their ground is being redeveloped."

"We look forward to working closely with the Stadium, the Football Association and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in the forthcoming year both on the management of events and their work in the local community that they outlined in their application."

^ Back to Top ^