Tottenham Hotspur have been forced to move two of their Premier League fixtures to Wembley after ‘issues with critical safety systems’ delayed the opening of their new stadium
Spurs had been expected to play their first game at their new home against Liverpool on September 15. This, along with the following home game against Cardiff City on October 6, has been moved to Wembley.
The NFL London fixture between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders, which was due to take place there on October 14, has also been moved to the national stadium while a venue for Spurs’ league meeting with Manchester City on October 28 is also ‘to be confirmed’.
‘Recent testing and commissioning has now shown issues with the critical safety systems,’ a statement from Tottenham reads.
‘We are reviewing the situation and planned timetable to rectify and re-test, after which we shall be in a better position to outline a revised timetable.
‘The delays created by these difficulties mean that we can no longer hold the necessary test events on 27 August and 1 September. These will need to be rescheduled to take place ahead of any first official match at the new stadium in order to achieve the safety licence.’
“We know this will be disappointing for all our season tickets holders, premium members and our fans worldwide,” said club chairman Daniel Levy.
“At the start of the project we asked for your support during what we knew would be a complex and challenging build and now we ask for your continued patience and forbearance.”
Spurs has already agreed to play the first of their Premier League ‘home’ games – against Fulham on Saturday – at Wembley, where they played their home games for the duration of last season.
