Tottenham's New Stadium Delayed Until 2019
Tottenham's new stadium in London won't be ready until next year.
Spurs announced a fourth delay in the stadium's opening Friday, moving five more home games through December to Wembley.
Tottenham played at 36,284-seat White Hart Lane through the 2016-17 season. Construction of the 62,062-seat stadium began adjacent to White Hart Lane began in 2015. A corner of White Hart Lane was torn down after the 2015-16 season and the remainder was demolished immediately after the final game on May 17, 2017, to allow the new stadium to be completed.
Spurs planned to play at Wembley for the 2017-18 season only but announced in mid-June their 2018-19 opener against Fulham would be at Wembley and the new stadium would open with a Sept. 15 match against Liverpool.
In mid-August, matches against Liverpool and Cardiff were moved, and Tottenham announced in early September its match against Oct. 29 game against Manchester City and all three Champions League group stage matches would be at the national stadium.
The announcement Friday means additional matches at Wembley against Chelsea (Nov. 28), Southampton (Dec. 5), Burnley (Dec. 15), Bournemouth (Dec. 26) and Wolverhampton (Dec. 29).
The earliest the new stadium could officially open is Jan. 13 against Manchester United.
''I wish I was able to confirm an exact opening date and fixture,'' Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement. ''However, in light of factors completely outside of our control, contractors missing deadlines and possible future unforeseen issues, we are naturally being cautious in respect of our timetable for our test events and official opening game.''
