The Football Association has announced it has received an offer to buy Wembley stadium. The bid has come from Shahid Khan, the owner of Fulham and the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
Khan is understood to have offered around £500m to purchase the national stadium and under the deal the FA would retain the rights to Club Wembley, its debenture and hospitality business, understood to be worth around £300m.
The FA Cup final and semi-finals would stay at Wembley if a deal with Khan, which is said to be in its early stages, goes through. It is understood the FA would be keen for the stadium’s name to continue to include the word Wembley under the terms of any sale. The money from a deal would be ploughed back into grassroots football by the FA, notably on pitches. If the governing body accepts Khan’s offer, it would clear its remaining debt from the rebuilding of the stadium and free the FA from the financial burden of running Wembley.
The stadium cost around £830m to rebuild, considerably above the projected amount.
The FA said in a statement: “We can confirm that the FA has received an offer to buy Wembley Stadium.”
Jacksonville would play NFL games at Wembley if Khan buys the stadium. Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive vice-president of events and international, said: “We are very happy for Shad Khan and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The potential purchase of Wembley stadium is a further powerful sign of their commitment to the UK and their vision to help us grow the sport.
“Having stadium options in London has always been critical to the NFL and, in tandem with our 10-year partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, this new relationship would allow for even greater flexibility in scheduling future NFL games in London.”