Government delays decision on Wembley

LONDON (CNN) -- The British government has postponed a decision on whether to continue with plans to build a new English national football stadium at Wembley.

British culture secretary Tessa Jowell told parliament: "There is a very great deal of work to be done before there can be a final decision on the national stadium.

"It remains a possible outcome that no national stadium will be developed."

Jowell also said an alternative proposal to build a national stadium in Birmingham could still be approved if the Wembley proposal could "not be delivered within a reasonable timescale."

However, English Football Association chief executive Adam Crozier told a press conference that Wembley remained its "preferred option" and said the F.A. wanted to make the project "final and unconditional" by the end of April 2002.

The five-year-old project to re-develop the north London site of the historic venue has been hindered by escalating expenses and disagreements over the role and necessity of a national stadium,

The last game played at the old Wembley stadium, built in 1923, was England's World Cup qualifier against Germany in October 2000. Demolition work was due to start shortly afterwards but doubts ever since over funding mean the stadium's famous white twin towers are still standing.

The project finally stalled seven months ago when the F.A. announced it could no longer meet rising costs. Australian construction company Multiplex signed a contract in September 2000 to build the stadium for $475 million but by May that figure had reached nearly $1 billion.

The British government, which had already granted $175m in national lottery money to the F.A., refused to meet the gap in funding and appointed businessman Patrick Carter to review the project.

Plans for a new Norman Foster-designed stadium at Wembley were originally conceived with England's bid to host the 2006 World Cup and London's hosting of the 2005 World Athletics Championship in mind.

But in November 1999 sports minister Kate Hoey said the lack of a permanent running track made the proposed venue unsuitable for a future Olympic bid.

Culture secretary Chris Smith then decided Wembley should be designed specifically for football and rugby while developing plans for a separate athletics stadium at Pickett's Lock in northeast London.

That project was scrapped in October, with London subsequently losing the right to host the 2005 World Championships.

Last month a parliamentary committee described the government's handling of the project as "scandalously inept".

Since the closure of Wembley, the fortunes of England's football team have been revived under Swedish coach Sven Goran Eriksson and the successful staging of international matches at Premier League grounds around the country has raised doubts about the need for a national stadium.