WEMBLEY (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Wembley National Stadium, the owner of the under-construction Wembley Football Stadium and Australian-based property management & construction firm Multiplex have reportedly reached an agreement in their ongoing dispute regarding the stadium.
The Sunday Observer reported that Multiplex and the Football Association were close to making an announcement regarding the stadium's completion.
The stadium has been in limbo because of ongoing legal disputes.
Both WNS and Multiplex agreed to put a halt to their litigation earlier this month and try to resolve the dispute out of court. The agreement came after Multiplex had initiated court proceedings to recover $850 million dollars in additional expenses for the completion of the stadium. WNS has disagreed with their liability for some of these costs, particularly in relation to structural steel work and the completion of the stadium's roof.
The Sunday Observer noted that the "last-ditch negotiations" had succeeded and that the Football Association had agreed to pay £70 million in addition to the £458 million stipulated in the initial contract. Of that £70 million, Multiplex would return £35 million as compensation for failing to complete the stadium on time.
A previous stadium stood on the same spot, but was closed in 2000 and subsequently demolished to make way for the new stadium.
The planned facility is the most expensive stadium project to date and will provide seating, protected by a sliding roof for over 90,000 people. The stadium had been scheduled to reopen on March 20, 2006 but in December 2005 builders said that there was "a material risk" that the stadium might not be opened in time. This led to the World Cup game being forced to move to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in Wales.
There have been construction problems as well. A large steel rafter shifted by more than a meter on March 20, 2006 forcing an evacuation and then expensive repairs. This was followed three days later by sewers beneath the stadium buckling due to "ground movement" a defect that would require extensive repairs as well. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
