Chelsea and Tottenham vying for Wembley relocation while stadiums are built

Two London-based English Premier League clubs, Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur, look likely to battle it out for the right to play their home games at Wembley stadium while their own stadiums are being rebuilt.

Both clubs will need to find an alternative home venue starting from the 2017-18 season – with Chelsea expected to relocate for three years and Tottenham likely to need a replacement stadium for one year.

Both clubs are understood to have opened talks with the Football Association (FA) – which owns and operates Wembley – regarding the move.

Speaking at the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester last week, FA chief executive Martin Glenn said he would support clubs using the 90,000-capacity Wembley “under certain circumstances”.

“I won’t comment on individual clubs, but if that’s an opportunity then we will follow it,” Glenn said.

“It’s in our interest as an association for clubs to redevelop their grounds, make superb facilities and – if it’s possible – to help them in that transition by using Wembley, we are absolutely supportive of that.

“Wembley is primarily a football stadium, football matches are more profitable to run than concerts and other things and we’re seeking to use it more for football.”

Both clubs sharing Wembley, however, looks unlikely due to the congested football calendar.

As well as Premier League games, both clubs are likely to feature in European and domestic cup competition throughout the season – increasing the number of games they play.

Premier League supremo Richard Scudamore has already stressed that the rules of the competition will not allow the Premier League's fixture list to be "twisted out of shape" by the limited availability of one venue – making it unlikely that Wembley could be used by both clubs.

Chelsea recently released new designs – by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron – for a £500m (US$770m, €688.5m) redevelopment of its Stamford Bridge stadium, while Tottenham announced its own £400m plans for a new stadium earlier this year.