Wembley coming along nicely!!

FA plays down doubts over Wembley
The Football Association says it remains confident the new Wembley Stadium will be ready for the 2006 FA Cup final. The project has been troubled by delays and is £75m over budget, and builders Multiplex says there is a risk it may not be ready for the game on 13 May. "We are assured they are on schedule to hand over the stadium on 31 March," said FA spokesman Adrian Bevington. "We are continuing to work towards playing the Cup Final there on 13 May." Bevington admitted the FA had bookee Cardiff's Millennium Stadium as a back-up venue. "There is a critical construction plan in place, as you would expect, and that is being followed," he said. "There is certainly no fresh concern or panic at the FA in light of the statement issued to the Australian stock exchange overnight." Hungary, who became the first non-British team to win at Wembley when they beat England 6-3 in 1953, could be the opposition for England's first game at the new stadium, on 30 May. Hungarian Football Federation president Imre Bozoky says they have been invited to play, but Bevington said nothing was set in stone yet. "No agreement has been signed but we have been involved in discussions with the Hungarian FA with a view to playing them in one of our World Cup preparation games," he said. "We will confirm that once we are in a position to do so. We hope to be in a position by the end of the week to announce our full programme prior to the World Cup."

Wembley dropped for FA Cup final
This year's FA Cup final has been moved to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, says the company building the new Wembley. In a statement to the Australian stock exchange, Multiplex said the Football Association wanted "100% certainty" the stadium would be ready by 13 May. England's World Cup warm-ups against Hungary on 30 May and Jamaica on 3 June are expected to move to Old Trafford. The Football League's end-of-season play-off finals are also now set to take place in Cardiff. The FA will make an official announcement at 1200 GMT on Tuesday, but the Millennium Stadium is already preparing to host the FA Cup final. "We've had a long-standing plan in place and I think it was a prudent measure on behalf of the FA back last August," chief executive Paul Sergeant told BBC Radio Five Live. "I know they took a lot of stick for it then but it's come to fruition so it was the right thing to do - and things have been in place since then. "Brian Barwick has got to confirm that later in the day but we've got to now get on with it." The FA made its decision after its chief executive Barwick visited the new stadium's site on Monday with Wembley chief executive Michael Cunnah before meeting Multiplex's UK managing director Martin Tidd. "Multiplex understands that the English FA is to transfer the 2006 FA Cup final to its reserve venue," company secretary Mark Wilson said in the company's statement to the Australian stock exchange. "Whilst disappointed with the decision, Multiplex continues to work towards targeting completion of Wembley National Stadium at the earliest possible date. "We understand the FA made this decision on the basis that it requires 100% certainty that the venue will be fully functional by 13 May 2006, the scheduled date for the the 2006 FA Cup final." The original completion date for the stadium had been autumn 2005, with the deadline first extended to the end of January and then the end of March. Multiplex warned in January that there was only a 70% chance of the 90,000-seat stadium being ready to stage the FA Cup final. It said then that it could not afford any further delays if it was to meet the delayed 31 March deadline to hand the £757m project to the FA. Building work on Wembley has been fraught with difficulties Multiplex will be penalised £1m a week for over-running the deadline. The firm issued six profit warnings between February and December last year, largely due to cost increases at the project, causing its shares to drop 42% in 2005. Even if the work was finished by the end of March, the management of the new stadium would have had to train up hundreds of staff and satisfy safety officials that they could stage major events. Wembley is also due to announce on Tuesday whether several pop concerts scheduled to be staged at the stadium this summer would go ahead.

New Wembley may face fresh delays
Wembley Stadium Ltd and the Football Association have each refused to confirm whether the building of the new stadium is suffering further delays. Wembley, which will not be ready for May's FA Cup final, is scheduled to host the Community Shield on 13 August. But Sir Stanley understands that rugby league's Challenge Cup final on 26 August could have to be held elsewhere, casting doubt on the Community Shield. "We have contingency plans in place," an RFL spokesman told Sir Stanley. "We have a contract with Wembley, but we have not yet been told that there is a problem or that we won't be able to hold the game there." Speculation in Thursday's newspapers suggested the final of British rugby league's main cup competition could be moved to Twickenham, the HQ of rugby union in England. An RFU spokeswoman confirmed the stadium was available on 26 August, but refused to comment on whether the organisation had been in talks with the RFL. "There has been a lot of speculation and we don't want to add to that at the moment," said the spokeswoman. About 35,000 Challenge Cup final tickets have been sold, with many fans travelling to London from rugby league's heartland in the north of England - meaning another venue in the capital is the most likely destination if Wembley is not ready in time. The building of the stadium has suffered numerous problems, with a roof beam collapsing last week, resulting in building work being cancelled for a day. There have also been problems with underground sewer pipes at the stadium and workers were sent home on Tuesday after disputes over pay and threats of redundancy. "We're working with Wembley and Multiplex and we want to get the stadium open at the earliest possible date," an FA spokesman told Sir Stanley. But the speculation has also cast doubt over England's Euro 2008 qualifiers in September - which are meant to be the first time the national football team will play at the redeveloped ground.

Wembley owner fears further delay
The owner of the new Wembley stadium has said it expects its builders to miss their revised September deadline for completing the arena. But Wembley National Stadium Limited said it did expect the much-delayed £757m venue to be finished this year. The north London stadium was due for completion in August 2005, but hold-ups have led to events such as this year's FA Cup Final having to be rescheduled. Construction firm Multiplex said it was sticking to its September deadline. Slanging match Wembley's operator appears to be losing patience with Multiplex, and has refused to guarantee that the venue will even be ready to host the 2007 FA Cup Final. \"Whilst the stadium is well on the way to being finished and looks magnificent from the outside, Multiplex still has major items to complete,\" said Michael Cunnah, WNSL's chief executive. In a statement he said that Multiplex was still installing seats, working on the stadium's roof, repairing the drainage system and installing building management and life safety systems. However, Multiplex is suggesting that WSNL will be to blame if the stadium misses its latest September completion deadline. A spokesperson said that Multiplex still hoped to have \"practical completion\" by then, but that WNSL had to finish some works for that date to be accurate.

Wembley builder doubles profits
The developer of the troubled Wembley Stadium project has reported a doubling of its annual profits. Australia-based Multiplex made 216.8m Australian dollars (£87m; $166m) in the year to June - thanks to asset sales and growth in values of its properties. But it lost A$364m before tax on the 90,000-seater Wembley project which it took on a fixed-price basis and has seen \"cost blow-outs\". Multiplex has said the £757m London stadium will not open until June 2007. The firm also announced that it was to hand over the building of a shopping centre in London's White City to retail developing giant Westfield. Legal claim Multiplex warned that fewer-than-expected projects would be finished next year - sending its shares down 2% It is seeking to recoup some of its losses on the Wembley project in a claim against UK steel firm Cleveland Bridge - the company which built the iconic arch which towers over the stadium. Wembley was due for completion in August 2005, but hold-ups have led to events, such as this year's FA Cup final, being rescheduled and played in Cardiff. The relationship between Multiplex and the stadium's owners, Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL), has become increasingly acrimonious. Multiplex has said 600 design changes have been introduced, forcing delays, but WNSL has laid the blame for the redevelopment problems firmly at the door of the Australian firm.

Barwick defends FA over Wembley
Football Association chief executive Brian Barwick says the governing body is not to blame for the delay over the new Wembley stadium. The stadium was supposed to open this year but there are now doubts about it being ready for the 2007 FA Cup final. \"I understand we are open to some degree of criticism, I would say misplaced criticism,\" he said. \"We are waiting for the builders to hand over the keys - we're not building the stadium, Multiplex is.\" The new national stadium, which is costing £757m, was due to open at the beginning of 2006, but Australian firm Multiplex announced a series of delays over its completion. The FA has been forced to hold the FA Cup final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and change England fixtures to Old Trafford.

hope it is ready for fa cup final, i have a £50 bet with Noel the paddy !!

Wembley Stadium to open next year
The Football Association has ended the dispute with the builders of the new Wembley Stadium, paving the way for the venue to open early next year. But the FA is not yet prepared to say the 2007 FA Cup final will definitely be staged at the near-£800m stadium. The FA wants to avoid a repeat of last season's fiasco when it had to move the Cup final to Cardiff after more delays. However, SSB understands that the 2007 final will almost certainly be played at the new Wembley next May. The FA, Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL) and Multiplex have now settled all outstanding disputes regarding the construction of, and payments for the project. The new national stadium, which was originally meant to cost £757m, was due to open at the beginning of 2006, but Multiplex announced a series of delays over its completion. WNSL, a subsidiary of the FA, is now expected to pay about £35m to Multiplex on top of the original fixed-price contract to take account of changes to the design. The actual terms of the agreement to get the stadium handed over to the FA early in 2007 have not been made public. English football's governing body announced on Thursday that WNSL and Multiplex have put their \"differences behind them\" to get the stadium finished off. FA chief executive Brian Barwick said: \"This agreement secures the process of getting the new Wembley Stadium up, running and open to the public. \"We look forward to staging major events at the stadium next year and consider this agreement with Multiplex to represent the beginning of the end of the construction phase. \"Everyone's target is now to complete what will be the finest stadium in the world.\" Multiplex chief executive Andrew Roberts said: \"We are very pleased to have reached agreement with WNSL and the FA to put our past differences behind us and put all our joint efforts into completing Wembley Stadium at the earliest opportunity.\" WNSL chief executive Michael Cunnah added: \"This is very welcome news for everyone involved with the stadium.\" Most of the building work at the site is now complete and two low-key events - such as an Under-21 international and a concert - will be staged at the stadium ahead of the FA Cup final.

FA dismisses new Wembley doubts
The Football Association has dispelled fresh concerns over Wembley Stadium despite a report that says the project was close to financial collapse. Auditors for the FA and subsidiary Wembley National Stadium Ltd are said to have had serious doubts following the row with builders Multiplex. Despite a settlement with Multiplex, any further delays could force WNSL to renegotiate its £457m loan. But an FA spokesman said: \"We are now in a strong position to move forward.\" The FA's and WNSL's auditors Deloitte and Touche reportedly had concerns over signing off the company as a going concern following the delays and long-standing dispute with Multiplex. WSNL and Multiplex have since reached a £36m which provides assurances the stadium will open in time for next May's FA Cup final. Despite that settlement, the accounts still express serious concerns that if the stadium is not completed by March, WNSL may have to renegotiate its bank loans. The FA spokesman told the Daily Telegraph: \"We are in a healthy financial position, events have moved on significantly since the annual report was written. \"The FA and WNSL have reached an agreement of differences with Multiplex as well as successfully renegotiating the bank loan.\" Multiplex's failure to deliver the stadium by the end of September meant the FA had to renegotiate a £40m loan repayment with a syndicate of banks headed by German bank West LB. And the Telegraph quotes WNSL directors as saying: \"There exists material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern.\" WNSL have borrowed £317m, with a further £140m loan from the FA who have also agreed a financial package for the stadium. This involves the FA paying £23m in the stadium's first year of operation, and an annual £13m afterwards.

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