http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml;jsessionid=VXU01CH24KCUVQFIQMGSFFOAVCBQWIV0?xml=/sport/2006/08/03/sfnwem03.xml&page=2
Wembley could ultimately cost more than £1 billion if the stadium is to be ready for the FA Cup final next spring. This may involve spending £100 million on top of the existing £820 million, plus legal fees. It could even mean replacing the Australian builders, Multiplex, with another contractor to get the stadium completed.
Spiralling: the cost of the national stadium has exceeded all expectations.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that a number of scenarios have been looked at in an attempt to end the impasse with Multiplex. The divide between Wembley National Stadium Ltd and Multiplex is so great that more than six months after it was due to be finished in January of this year, no date can be set for completion.
This impasse escalated to a damaging war of words this week with both sides blaming the other for the delays. Multiplex said the stadium would not be ready until June 2007, ruling out this coming season's FA Cup final. The Football Association and WNSL insist that is not the case.
Yesterday Brent Council, who have to give the safety certificate, were drawn into the row. Multiplex said that they could not hand over the stadium to WNSL until Brent gave a full safety certificate which enabled an event to take place with 90,000 people present.
WNSL say that is not the case, and that Multiplex have to build a stadium which is capable of being granted a licence, while it is up to WNSL to get the licence.
Brent have told me that they would first give a special certificate to hold a 30,000 community open day and two 60,000 events, one for a football match, the other for a music event. It is only after this that they would give a final certificate for a 90,000 football match, which could be the FA Cup final.
Multiplex insist that according to the terms of the contract that is the time when the stadium can be considered to be ready and they can hand over the keys to WNSL.
Relations between WNSL and Multiplex are so bad that, as this week's Construction News reports, Multiplex have banned all non-essential WNSL personnel, which would include FA chief executive Brian Barwick, from the stadium. I understand that this happened after Multiplex thought an under-age person had got access to the stadium. Any violation of health and safety rules could see Multiplex executives jailed.
As already revealed by The Daily Telegraph, both sides have launched claims against each other. WNSL have held back £38 million in liquidated damages for Multiplex finishing late. Multiplex have made claims totalling more than £150 million and adjudicators will come to a decision over these claims later this month.
Multiplex are cranking up the pressure on WNSL as they have nothing to lose, having suffered a loss of almost £200 million as well as damage to their reputation. If anything, their share price on the Sydney stock exchange is recovering, however. Instead, the pressure is on WNSL, who need the 2007 FA Cup final to be played at Wembley in order to start earning money to pay back their bankers.
Meanwhile, in a bizarre twist, Delaware North, Wembley's caterers, have accepted a booking from Multiplex to hold their Christmas party at Wembley. It will be the only event there this year.
MXG
multiplex group
