Tottenham Apologise to Fans and Confirm Refunds Over Developing Stadium Crisis

Tottenham Hotspur have apologised to fans and confirmed that refunds will be made following the news that the club has had to delay the opening of their new stadium as a result of 'critical safety systems' not being in place, with at least two more home games to be played at Wembley.

Tottenham were already scheduled to play their opening home game of 2018/19 at Wembley against Fulham this weekend, 15 months after the old White Hart Lane was closed for demolition to allow the new stadium to be completed.

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But now the fixtures against  Liverpool (15th September) and Cardiff (6th October) have also been moved to Wembley as the new stadium will not be ready in time.

An official statement from the club read: "All those who have purchased season tickets at the new stadium will be credited 1/19th of the price you have paid for your 2018/19 season ticket for each fixture concerned."

The club went on to explain: "Delays are common, certainly for builds of this size and complexity, however we are hugely frustrated that this has occurred with these systems at such a late stage. Whilst we would have been able to mitigate other areas, we simply cannot compromise safety.

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"We should like to apologise to supporters for this delay. We are acutely aware of the disappointment this may cause supporters and shall now look to ensure that we minimise any inconvenience."

The new stadium was also due to host an NFL game between Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders on 14th October, with that fixture now being relocated to Wembley as well.

The problems for Spurs are not over, however. As things stand, they would be expecting to play the first game in their new stadium against Manchester City on 28th October, yet any further delays could cause real issues as Wembley is already booked for that weekend for an NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles.

One option would be to reverse the game, but it has already been reported by Sky Sports that the Premier League is 'highly unlikely' to agree to the fixture being played at the Etihad Stadium.

Their only other options will be to find a new date for the match or a 'third home'.

The latter would be extremely challenging and would require permission from the Premier League, but equally agreeing a new date to have the game played at Wembley will not be easy as both teams are in action in the Champions League and EFL Cup before and after that weekend.