London: Could Fulham owner take over at Wembley?
source: BBC.com / StadiumDB.com; author: michał
The English Football Association has received a bid worth as much as £900 million to sell Wembley to Fulham owner Shahid Khan. The FA would keep control of the stadium's hospitality offer.
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It's been in the making for quite some time, as confirmed by Fulham manager Slaviša Jokanović. Now the offer of Wembley takeover is finally on the table and was debated by the FA board earlier today. Jokanović said the ambition to buy England's national stadium has been known to him for a year and a half.
© Steve James (cc: by)
Submitted by Fulham owner Shahid Khan, the proposal is supposedly worth a total of £900 million ($1.25 billion). The total would comprise of actual purchase of the stadium for £600 million and additional value in the FA retaining hospitality areas, worth an estimated £300 million.
While surely tempting, the offer cannot be accepted outright. The FA still owes £113 million for the stadium to public bodies such as Sport England, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, plus the London Development Agency and potential agreement would require time.
Of course, change in ownership would not mean Fulham moving to Wembley. The team is currently about to begin Craven Cottage expansion. The transaction would be more about London's record-breaking entertainment market and future NFL games.
For the American league it's the first place to expand outside the US and it's understood that Wembley and new Tottenham stadium are two potential venues for a permanent NFL franchise, should one be established.
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