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Tottenham Hotspur is expected to ask the Premier League to host at least one home match at Wembley Stadium at the start of the 2018-19 season. This comes after concerns that Spurs’ new stadium will not be completed on time to begin the new campaign.
Matt Hughes, writing for the Times of London, says that delays to the new stadium have made it so that it will not be possible to have Spurs’ new ground ready and tested on schedule. Spurs need to not only have the stadium finished, but also host 2-3 test events in order to receive a safety certificate from the FA. The first test event, an open training session, is currently scheduled for early August.
However, the Premier League schedule is set to be released tomorrow, and Spurs have until then to announce whether they will request to play their opening home fixtures at Wembley instead of in their new home. The club had previously announced that it might seek to play its opening three matches away from home, as has been done for other clubs who were building or renovating stadiums in recent years. It’s not yet clear whether they will open away and THEN play a match at Wembley, or whether they will cancel the request for a string of away matches and opt to play home matches at Wembley until the new stadium is ready.
Tottenham have secured the right to play several matches at Wembley, but are not planning to disclose the precise number as the timeline of the stadium build remains fluid and they do not want to give any additional leeway to the construction team. The club are hoping to play their fifth match of the season at their new ground, when the Premier League resumes after the first international break on September 15, but are not in a position to guarantee that.
—Matt Hughes, The Times
Tottenham are also expected to announce that they will play away in the third round of the League Cup next season, and could host at least one home Champions League match at Wembley, pending the draw and the schedule.
Spurs have one commitment for the new stadium already: they are set to host the NFL match between the Oakland Radiers and the Seattle Seahawks on October 14.