FA insists Wembley plan on target

The twin towers of the old Wembley Stadium were an English national symbol

LONDON, England -- England's Football Association has insisted the £715 million ($1 billion) scheme to rebuild London's historic Wembley Stadium remains on track.

Tests set for construction of the 90,000-seat stadium by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell in December have been "substantially met," the FA said in a statement on Friday.

"A new Board and a strong management team are ready to take the project through to a satisfactory conclusion," it added.

English football's governing body declined to give details about any funding to assist the construction of the stadium. It had been reported that Westdeutsche Landesbank had agreed to put up a £485 million loan. The German bank told CNN that "no decision has been made."

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Spokesman Michael Wilde said from WestLB's headquarters in Dusseldorf that talks were progressing but there would be no final decision before next week. London's Financial Times said Jurgen Sengera, chairman of WestLB, had sent a formal offer to the Football Association.

The offer meant a go-ahead for the demolition of the existing stadium and its famous "twin towers," the FT said.

The FA also said the government would make an announcement to the House of Commons next week about the project.

A government deadline for the FA and the group behind the London bid -- Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL) -- to satisfy the demands expired earlier this week.

The FA's announcement came a day before the English FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea being played at a new stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The design for the new stadium sees a giant arch replace the twin towers

Cardiff's Millennium Stadium was first used for last season's FA Cup Final after Wembley was closed.

English internationals have been played at Premiership grounds such as Manchester United's Old Trafford and Liverpool's Anfield instead of the traditional Wembley venue.

The Wembley rebuilding scheme has been dogged by controversy.

British banks were cool on the project and the FA was refused a request for extra UK government cash to keep the scheme going. The FA's own bank, Barclays, finally pulled out last week after learning of WestLB's interest.

There was a boost for the project on Thursday when London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the London Development Agency would contribute £21 million ($30m) to the project.

"Football is ready and waiting for the new Wembley," Livingstone said.

The LDA forecasts revenues of £229 million ($335m) a year from the redeveloped Wembley complex.

But the FA still needs the approval of UK Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell before demolition of the twin towers can begin.

The old Wembley stadium was host to cup finals and pop concerts

Failure for the talks with WestLB could lead to the revival of a bid for an alternative and much less expensive stadium in Birmingham, central England.

A government deadline for the FA and the group behind the London bid -- Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL) -- to satisfy its demands expired earlier this week.

But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it would not make an announcement on the bid until next week because of local elections.

Last year's FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium was such a success that many supporters started calling for the final to remain in south Wales permanently.

But Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the Football Supporters' Association, told PA that fans were less worried about the stadium's location, and more about how many tickets would be available for future games.

Of the Wembley scheme he said: "We believe that a high proportion of the 90,000 seats will be `high premium' seats that are not available to ordinary fans."

He also said that the transport problems around Wembley needed to be addressed before any new stadium was built there.