FA face £72million repair bill to fix Wembley unless it sells up to Fulham owner Shahid Khan

THE FA faces a £72million repair bill unless it sells Wembley to Fulham owner Shahid Khan.

Members of the 127-strong FA Council will hear the stark warning at Wembley today as the governing body seeks to bolster ebbing support for the planned £600m sale.

Opposition to the proposals to plough the proceeds of the deal into a £500m nationwide grass-roots facilities initiative has grown in the past months.

And in what appears to be a last throw of the dice, senior FA figures will urge the council members to think about the realities of the deal before what is set to be a decisive vote in a fortnight.

Mark Burrows, the FA’s chief financial officer, will today repeat the presentation he made to the county representatives.

Burrows will reinforce his message by saying: “We do not need to sell Wembley. It is profitable and I would be happy to keep running it.

“But if we sell, the FA would save £72m in capital expenditure over the next six years, with £18m due this year.

“Wembley was built more than ten years ago.

“We need to upgrade connectivity and security, our hospitality, the toilets, to spend £2m on floodlights, £1m on the pitch, £1.5m on the beer delivery system.

“That’s £18m this year alone and we would be immediately off the hook for that. The outlay is the biggest number in the turnover equation.

“So we would be better off by handing over the stadium to them, never mind the £600m.”

It is also known that major repairs — which could cost £20m — are needed on the roof.

As part of the proposed deal with Khan, which has been backed by the Government, the Fulham owner has agreed to pay £600m up front with a further £300m calculated from future Club Wembley incomes.

Khan has accepted a number of conditions, including a promise he will not try to move Fulham into Wembley, although it would become the potential base for a future London NFL franchise.

The FA plans to take England “on the road” during the NFL window between September and November — but if Khan breached the conditions, Wembley could be bought back for between £100m and £200m.

However, amateur representatives, who make up almost half the Council, have grown increasingly negative about the idea of selling the national stadium barely a decade after it was opened.

And with the mood hardening, even the FA’s version of “Project Fear” is not felt likely to alter minds.

Ahead of today’s meeting, Khan last week sent a letter to the Council members offering them a long-term say in the running of the stadium and promising to be a faithful owner.

Khan wrote: “I want to assure you that I thoroughly understand the significance of what this means to everyone who celebrates football in England.

“That’s why I was inspired and driven to present a worthy financial offer to the FA that would provide vital, remarkable and tangible benefits to the game for generations to come.

“I am confident that if my proposal is accepted, the positive impact the FA can make in all areas of the English game will be immediate and lasting.”

The Fulham owner added: “I owe it to you to be a responsible owner and operator of Wembley.

“Under my guardianship it will at all times be three things – the national stadium of England, the traditional home of English football, and one of the world’s finest venues for sport and entertainment.

“It will always be Wembley Stadium, and it will have no peer – but we must acknowledge that certain elements of the venue are already a stage or two behind newer stadiums.”

As a signal of his intentions, Khan promised: “I’d like all of us to explore a committee of FA Council members who would play a meaningful advisory role on all FA-related stadium matters.

“Your voice and counsel will always be heard and respected and you will always be welcomed as our guest for FA events at Wembley.

“A bright tomorrow for the game of football in England will require teamwork and partnership, to which I am fully committed.”