Wembley deal ties England to home turf for 30 years

All of England's football matches will be staged at the new Wembley stadium for the next 30 years to pay for the £715m project, the Football Association said yesterday.

The bulldozers will finally begin demolishing the 80-year-old stadium in September, almost two years after it staged its last match. It has remained empty, at the cost of £300,000 a month, as the football authorities, the Government and the City wrangled over the scheme to replace it.

The Football Association announced yesterday it had clinched a "heads of agreement" deal with the German bank Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB) to build the new stadium. The deal is expected to be completed by mid-August, with work starting on the new stadium the following month. It would open for business in mid-2005.

WestLB will put an estimated £400m into the project, with the rest of the money coming from the National Lottery and the FA.

Adam Crozier, the FA chief executive, speaking in Japan, said: "This marks a major step forward in helping us to succeed in our desire to build a stadium that will be among the finest in the world.

"There is still much to be done but we have never been more confident that the final details can be worked out."

He acknowledged that the FA would have to sacrifice its "England on the Road" campaign to pay for the stadium. The policy of playing England internationals at venues around the country, forced on the FA by the closure of Wembley in 2000, has proved a success with full houses from Newcastle to Derby, Liverpool to Tottenham.

Advocates argue that the time away from Wembley has broadened the support base, with more families attending games and a less intimidating atmosphere prevailing.

But Mr Crozier said the initiative would have to be abandoned to make the new 90,000-seat stadium financially viable. The new Wembley will provide 17,500 corporate seats to help recoup costs.

The stadium will cost £358m, although other costs, such as roads and parking areas, will push up the price.

Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "This is a really important day in the countdown to the new national stadium. It hasn't always been straightforward and there is still work to be done. So let's get on with it."