Contractors Issue Strong Denial of Claims That 'Drug and Alcohol Use' Have Delayed Spurs Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur have been left frustrated over the construction of their new stadium, which they had intended to have completed by now.
The London side had expected to move into their new facilities by August. However, they will continue to play their home fixtures at Wembley for the foreseeable future due to project delays.
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According to Industry magazine Construction News, the management of a chaotic workforce - consisting of at least 4,000 individuals - has slowed thing down considerably. It was also reported that several workers have been using drugs and alcohol on the site.
“There were people off their heads, drinking cans first thing in the morning before going on to site and snorting coke in the toilets,” an unnamed source told the aforementioned publication.
Contracting company Mace are responsible for the construction of the 61,000-seater stadium but it is said that subcontractors communicating directly with the club instead of the head contracting group is causing loads of problems.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has since expressed displeasure over the delay, referring to it as 'disappointing, costly and frustrating', but also vowed to be 'uncompromising' in his quest to give fans something "extraordinary."
Mace, meanwhile, have issued a strong denial following the reports of drug and alcohol use on the project, claiming to run random tests on employees. They have also promised to deliver an 'iconic' stadium that will leave a 'fantastic, lasting legacy'.
“Mace strongly refutes the image of our project painted by these anonymous allegations" the company said in a statement. "The health, safety and well-being of everybody is, and has always been, a core value at Mace and any suggestion that our rigorous standards around best practice or drugs and alcohol had been broken would be taken extremely seriously.
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"We carry out regular random drugs and alcohol testing to ensure that our rules are enforced throughout our supply chain. Any concerns about specific health and safety risks should have been flagged to Mace health and safety staff on the project.
“The new Tottenham Hotspur stadium is one of the UK’s most complex and innovative projects. The club and the construction team are working diligently to complete the iconic stadium as soon as possible.
"Although these delays are obviously frustrating, once complete the new stadium is going to leave a fantastic, lasting legacy and will be a project everyone involved will be proud to be associated with.
“As you would expect, the number of operatives on site has reduced as sections of the stadium have begun to complete, in line with our programme.”
The new White Hart lane will reportedly cost Tottenham £850m and they now hope to have it completed by the second half of the current campaign in light of recent developments.
