The infamous Wembley Stadium in London will soon be ready to host its first event next year, according to British newspaper reports.
Wembley National Stadium Limited and Multiplex were locked in a legal stoush and Multiplex claimed that WNSL made 500 changes to the design brief, which contributed to the delays at Wembley Stadium.
Last month, Multiplex launched a £350 million ($A850 million) action against WNSL. However, earlier this month, the parties agreed to suspend their High Court battle to try and settle the dispute out of court and avoid a similar bad publicity, which Multiplex endured during its successful case against steel subcontractor Cleveland Bridge United Kingdom.
Yesterday, The Observer reported that WNSL and Multiplex are set to enter into an agreement whereby the FA will pay Multiplex $173 million on top of the originally agreed $1.12 billion redevelopment price.
The eight-year long project will now cost the English Football Association over $2 billion.
According to The Observer, Multiplex would also pay the FA $87 million back as late penalty compensation, bringing the group’s total loss in the project to $365 million and bringing the total cost of Wembley to $2.4 billion.
According to The Observer, the parties are expected to make an announcement regarding the agreement and the hosting of the 2007 FA Cup Final on May 19, 2007 – 12 months behind schedule.
The redeveloped 90,000-seater stadium in north London was originally scheduled to open early this year for the 2006 FA Cup Final. However, a series of cost overruns and disputes between Multiplex and its subcontractors pushed the completion date further out.
The FA Cup Final was subsequently moved to Cardiff’s Millennium Dome.
In August, there were fears that the 2007 FA Cup Final would have “another away game” at Cardiff’s Millennium Dome after Multiplex said a detailed analysis of the Wembley Stadium’s programme found the venue is unlikely to hold a test event for 90,000 spectators before June 2007.
Multiplex was locked in a dispute with WNSL, claiming that the delay in the project was caused by WNSL.
Multiplex said it is WNSL responsibility to obtain approvals from various Authorities in order to ensure the stadium is operational for events.
By Nelson Yap