Tottenham Hotspur have matched Chelsea’s offer to make Wembley their temporary home in a bid that could result in the London rivals sharing the national stadium for one season.
Chelsea were hopeful of securing exclusivity of Wembley while Stamford Bridge is redeveloped by submitting a four-year bid, thought to be worth around £15million-a-season, that would have left Spurs facing the prospect of moving to Milton Keynes for the 2017-18 campaign.
But Tottenham have responded by matching Chelsea’s offer for one season and there is growing optimism that may be enough to convince the Football Association to inform the Blues that they will have to share Wembley if they need to relocate in the summer of 2017.
A deal to house both Tottenham and Chelsea could earn the FA as much as £75m in total and would prevent any accusations of favouritism or unfair treatment.
Tottenham have always been open to the prospect of sharing Wembley and have pushed their case with the FA, but have not negotiated directly with Chelsea over the matter.
Chelsea made a bid for exclusivity because they do not want to make concessions over the 2017-18 domestic and European fixture lists with Tottenham and believe they must sell Wembley as a more long-term prospect to their fans.
Tottenham need a ground to play in for the 2017-18 season while their new £400m stadium is built and are further along in the process than Chelsea, having already started work on the basement foundations and put the contract for the main construction out for tender.
Chelsea submitted a planning application for the £500m redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, which will include increasing the capacity to 60,000, at the start of December 2015 and the club are aiming to start work in 2017.
The Blues have acknowledged that they will need a temporary home for at least three years and the club have also factored in the need for the protection of being able to play at Wembley for a fourth season if there are any unforeseen problems or delays in the build.
The FA stated it would not be drawn on commercial negotiations regarding the use of Wembley in 2017-18.
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