Tottenham set to play 2017-18 home fixtures at Wembley as FA applies to Brent Council to host 31 extra events

Home from Home | Spurs are due to move into their new stadium at White Hart Lane for the 2018-19 campaign
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Tom Collomosse26 January 2017

Tottenham's plan to play home matches at Wembley Stadium moved a step closer to completion on Thursday as the FA proposed to hold 31 more major events there.

A request has been submitted to Brent Council to increase the number of full-capacity events at the venue between August 1 this year and July 31, 2018.

If granted, that would allow Spurs to play 19 Premier League fixtures and 12 cup matches at the national stadium. As revealed by Standard Sport last week, Spurs must confirm to the FA by the end of March whether they intend to use the ground next season.

Although they have struggled to adapt to Wembley this season, losing two of their three Champions League fixtures there, Tottenham have been a popular draw.

The national stadium was virtually full for the games against Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen, and there was a healthy attendance for the final fixture against CSKA Moscow, even though Spurs had no chance of advancing to the knockout stages.

And for next month’s Europa League match against Belgian club Ghent, Spurs have decided to open the top tier of Wembley after quickly selling the original allocation of more than 50,000, offered at heavily reduced prices.

Tottenham intend to play at Wembley for a single season while their new 61,000-seat ground is completed. The cost of the overall project is about £750million and Spurs hope to be able to move in at the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

In Pictures | Inside Tottenham's new stadium

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Wembley National Stadium Limited, a subsidiary of the FA that runs the national stadium, confirmed in a statement: "As part of its preparations for the 2017/18 season, Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL) has submitted a planning application to temporarily increase the number of full capacity events at Wembley Stadium.

The application seeks to establish a temporary cap to accommodate up to an additional 31 sporting events at Wembley Stadium between 1 August 2017 and 31 July 2018, where the available spectator capacity is increased from 51,000 up to 90,000.

In a statement, Spurs confirmed their support for Wembley's application.

It read: "In preparation for our proposed temporary relocation to Wembley, the Club can confirm that we shall be supporting Wembley National Stadium Limited (WNSL) in their planning application to the London Borough of Brent to increase the number of events at which the stadium can be opened at full capacity for the 2017-18 season.

"There has been a huge demand for tickets from our fans and the residents of Brent during our four European fixtures hosted at Wembley so far this season and the prospect of all Club games being played in front of a full capacity stadium would allow many more to have the chance to watch all of our Premier League and cup games.

“It’s exciting. It can show how big our club is. We showed how well-supported the club is during the Champions League games, when the attendance for two of the games was nearly 90,000. It will be fantastic next season if we can achieve that capacity again.”

Mauricio Pochettino

"Importantly, if approved by the London Borough of Brent, it will allow the stadium operators, the Club, emergency services and transport providers to put in place a comprehensive management plan for the full period of any tenancy with certainty on how the stadium will be allocated throughout the period and what management measures are required.

"We shall be supporting WNSL as they undertake a thorough consultation process so that residents are fully aware of the application and our commitment to ensuring that our proposed tenancy delivers positive benefits, as well as initiatives and improvements to better mitigate event day impacts on local residents and the wider community."

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