MEMORANDUM SUBMITTED BY THE DEPARTMENT
FOR CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT
WEMBLEY NATIONAL STADIUM
ROLE OF
DCMS
1. The primary role of the Department in
respect of the project has been to ensure that the English Sports
Council (ESC), as statutory distributors of Lottery funds for
sport, do so in line with the Financial and Policy Directions
issued by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.
ESC draws up its own distribution policy, within a framework set
by Government under the National Lottery etc Act 1993 as amended
by the National Lottery Act 1998, and must operate that policy
fairly. DCMS Ministers do not have any role in the distribution
process itself.
2. Although the Department had no formal
role in the Lottery decision making process, it was appropriate,
given the national significance of the project, that Ministers
and officials kept in close contact with the ESC and other parties
involved as the project developed.
ROLE OF
DCMS IN PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
3. The advent of the Lottery Sports Fund
in 1994 enabled the ESC to pursue the development of a National
Stadium for the long term domestic and international competition
needs of football, rugby league and athletics (the three sports)
with the relevant governing bodies. A number of cities were considering
the possibility of developing a national stadium and five bids
were received and evaluated by the ESC following which bids from
Bradford, Sheffield and Birmingham were rejected. Manchester and
London (Wembley) emerged as front runners but ESC required further
information before a final decision on Lottery funding could be
made. In June 1996 the ESC issued a Framework Document to both
bidders seeking detailed further information which was required
to evaluate properly the respective bids. The Department considered
representations about the process of evaluation and was satisfied
that the ESC was acting reasonably and within the legal framework
of the Financial and Policy Directions.
4. In October 1996, the three sports announced
Wembley as their preferred bidder following which the ESC announced
in December 1996 that it had agreed to award in principle funding
of £120 million towards the development of a new national
stadium at Wembley. The ESC continued to undertake further detailed
project evaluation and development with the English National Stadium
Trust (ENST), Wembley Plc and the three sports. In September 1997
ENST submitted a formal Lottery application, and ESC agreed to
release funding to the ENST towards concluding full and binding
agreements between the ENST, Wembley Plc and the three sports,
subject to satisfactory milestones being met. DCMS considered,
and were satisfied, that the proposed project structure met the
requirements of the Lottery Act etc 1993 in force at that time.
5. However, in March 1998 the project reached
an impasse following a rival bid from Arsenal FC for the Wembley
site which would be considered by the Wembley Plc Board alongside
the ENST proposals. It was at this point that the Football Association
(FA), acting on behalf of the football events holders, withdrew
from the project as then structured. They cited concerns about
the costs of purchasing the site and demands for environmental
improvements from the London Borough of Brent under Section 106
of the Planning Act 1990, as amended by the Planning and Compensation
Act 1991. At this point the ESC entered into negotiations with
the FA, with the full knowledge of ENST, to ensure the project
remained on track and, as a result, a new project structure emerged
in July 1998 with the FA as the dominant partner purchasing the
existing site and developing and operating the national stadium
through a wholly owned development company—the English National
Stadium Development Company (ENSDC) later renamed Wembley National
Stadium Limited (WNSL). It was important that Ministers did not
interfere with these negotiations, which were of a commercially
sensitive nature, although concerns were raised by the Department
with the ESC about further delays.
6. As negotiations between the FA, ESC and
Wembley progressed, ENST raised concerns with DCMS Ministers about
the protection of the public interest in the project under the
new structure. ESC advised that while it would have preferred
a fully independent trust to develop and operate the stadium,
this did not prove practicable, and that the ENST role now was,
therefore, to exercise its rights of veto under a Golden Share
held in the WNSL to ensure the public interest was protected and
to guarantee the stadium was operated in line with the Lottery
Funding Agreement and for the benefit of the nation.
7. During 1998, other examples of DCMS involvement
were to consider concerns expressed by the Royal Institute of
British Architects (RIBA) about ESC representation on the selection
panel for architects for the project. Although DCMS expressed
reservations to ESC, the purpose of the panel was advisory only
and, as such, made recommendations to ENST which would take the
final decision. The FA also sought the support of DCMS Ministers
to get the stamp duty fee waived on the stadium purchase, although
HMT confirmed that no special circumstances existed to allow this
to be waived. In August 1998, the Department approved ESC request
for Sir Rodney Walker, the then chair of ESC, to be appointed
to the board of WNSL as a nominee of ENST.
8. At the request of ESC and the FA, DCMS
entered into detailed discussions with ESC during the Summer of
1998 on revising the existing Lottery Directions which were not
appropriate for the project in relation to a range of issues on
repayment of grant, subordination of security to third party funders
and rights to repayment, and disposal of assets acquired with
Lottery funds. DCMS issued revised Financial Directions on 11
November 1998. Negotiations between ESC and the FA continued until
12 January 1999 when the Lottery Funding Agreement, Wembley Sale
and Purchase Agreement and the FA Staging Agreement were signed.
The Wembley Plc Board, on the casting vote of its then Chairman,
recommended to shareholders to accept the proposed WNSL offer
which was approved by the shareholders and the purchase completed
on 15 March. Wembley Plc shareholders voted to support the WNSL
proposals and the purchase was completed on 15 March 1999.
9. DCMS Ministers established a National
Stadium Monitoring Committee in February 1999 to facilitate effective
co-ordination, monitor progress, consider issues arising and monitor
progress on related bids for international events. The Committee
consisted of representatives from WNSL, the FA, ESC, Government
Office for London and No 10. There were three meetings of the
Committee on 17 February 1999, 20 May 1999 and 15 July 1999.
10. DCMS and DETR Ministers also supported
the creation of a Wembley Task Force to coordinate regeneration
and sports issues around the stadium. The Task Force was formally
launched on 29 July 1999. English Partnerships are the lead Government
organisation on the Task Force, and the interests of sport are
represented by Sport England, with officials from DCMS and the
Government Office for London attending as observers.
11. Involvement of the Department in the
design development is detailed below, but following announcements
on 1 December 1999 and 22 December 1999, it has been agreed that
Wembley should be the focus of a world class stadium for football
and rugby league with the FA returning £20 million to the
ESC for athletics. The investment of £100 million Lottery
funding will ensure firstly and foremost that we develop a world
class national stadium for football and rugby league, which will
set the benchmark in terms of architectural quality and spectator
comfort. It will also ensure that a minimum of 75,000 seats are
available for the general public, that the stadium cannot be transferred
or altered, and that the articles of association of the FA must
remain for at least 50 years (ie that it continues to be a non-profit
making organisation dedicated to the development of football at
all levels).
ROLE OF
DCMS IN PROJECT
DESIGN AND
ATHLETICS
12. The Department was first made aware
of concerns raised by the British Olympic Association (BOA) about
the specifications for the new stadium when they wrote to officials
on 19 March 1998. They highlighted the need for an athletics capacity
of 80,000 to enable a credible UK bid to come forward and that
they felt the wider Olympic dimension of the project was being
sidelined. DCMS officials relayed these concerns to ESC which
confirmed that the stadium would be designed with the ability
to host the Olympics should the UK decide to launch a bid. The
ESC confirmed to DCMS on 28 May 1998 that the design team was
discussing the brief with representatives from athletics and that
it sought design solutions which ensured the stadium would meet
IOC requirements.
13. In June 1998 the ESC confirmed to DCMS
officials that the stadium would be designed ". . . with
the ability to host the Olympics should the UK decide to launch
a bid early in the next millennium." However, following
further representations from the BOA, DCMS officials wrote to
ESC on 2 July 1998 explaining that the BOA felt they had not been
fully consulted and sought assurances that the ESC would meet
and brief the BOA on the key project design specifications.
14. ESC again confirmed to DCMS officials
in July 1998 that the stadium will be the home of football, rugby
league and athletics for at least 20 years and that ".
. . the intention is that the stadium should be capable of forming
the Centrepiece of any British Olympic bid. Discussions surrounding
the design brief are still to be finalised with the design team."
DCMS officials wrote to ESC on 21 July 1998 seeking assurances
that the stadium would be available for athletics and Olympics
in the future, and asked when Ministers would be able to see the
design.
15. At a meeting on 12 January 1999 DCMS
Ministers confirmed with the FA Executive that while Wembley was
key to 2006, it was also of great importance to a possible 2012
Olympic bid and the 2003 World Athletics Championships.
16. On 13 May 1999, the ESC wrote to DCMS
Ministers confirming the Lottery Funding Agreement with FA committed
WNSL to build a stadium capable of accommodating athletics including
World Athletics Championships and Olympics. ESC wrote again on
18 May 1999 to DCMS Ministers confirming that the contract with
WNSL provided a minimum of 65,000 seats for athletics but that
design options were due to be presented during June and that it
would be at that point when ESC would be able to establish the
athletics capacity in the range 70-80,000 seats.
17. At the National Stadium Monitoring Committee
meeting on 20 May 1999, there was considerable discussion on capacity
issues and WNSL confirmed they were contracted to provide 80,000
seats for football and 65,000 for athletics events. Ministers
therefore asked for WNSL to provide options and costings for increasing
capacity to 80,000 for athletics events.
18. DCMS Ministers wrote to ESC on 28 May
confirming that WNSL has been asked to work up proposals to deliver
a capacity of 80,000 for Olympics and that the ESC should liaise
with BOA, the London Borough of Brent and the Wembley Task Force
on warm up facilities for athletics events.
19. On 17 June 1999 WNSL submitted proposals
to DCMS of various options for increasing capacity to 80,000 in
athletics mode. On 22 June 1999, DCMS officials sought clarification
as to which other options had been considered for athletics in
terms of retractable or demountable seating. The ESC submitted
a briefing paper on Olympic issues to DCMS officials on 23 June
in response to WNSL proposals outlining the history of Olympic
issues.
20. On 29 June 1999 DCMS Ministers met ESC
and WNSL to dicusss WNSL costed options for increasing capacity
for Olympics and agreed that the option to increase capacity in
football mode from the start of the project was not viable but
that the design should preserve the option to be upgraded later
in line with Olympic requirements. DCMS Ministers met BOA to discuss
the proposed design on 5 July and explained proposals for 90,000
football converting to 67,000 athletics, but with a design capable
of being upgraded to accommodate 80,000 for Olympics. At the meeting
BOA supported this approach and wrote to DCMS Ministers on 8 July
1999 welcoming the fact that Olympics had been factored into the
design brief and that the stadium could be upgraded later for
Olympics. DCMS Ministers responded on 24 July 1999 offering assurances—in
so far as was possible—that costs for this would be considered
by HMG as part of overall funding for Olympics.
21. The next meting of the DCMS Monitoring
Committee was held on 15 July 1999 at which WNSL presented the
new stadium design and the Wembley Task Force presented proposals
for their regeneration work. At this meeting DCMS Ministers pressed
WNSL on what was required to increase to 80,000 for Olympics and
to provide the BOA with a presentation on the design ahead of
the proposed public launch later that month. The Wembley Task
Force were asked to ensure its work took account of any future
Olympic bid. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
met WNSL on 21 July 1999 to discuss the proposed design in more
detail. He raised a number of concerns about the proposed solution
of building a platform upon which an athletics track could be
laid, particularly in terms of length of time for such a conversion
from football mode, and the significant cost implications. He
asked WNSL to provide further details of the costs of the proposed
design solution, as well as those options which had been rejected.
22. The design of the new national stadium
was launched by WNSL on 29 July 1999. While the Secretary of State
for Culture, Media and Sport paid tribute to the aesthetic qualities
of the proposed new stadium, his concerns remained about the lack
of details available in respect of the proposed solution for meeting
the conflicting demands of athletics and football/rugby by means
of the construction of a temporary deck.
23. The BOA wrote to DCMS Ministers on 24
July 1999, 27 July 1999 and 30 July expressing concerns that the
WNSL proposals did not include details of how the stadium would
be upgraded to include 80,000 in athletics mode for an Olympic
Games. Following the launch of the design, DCMS officials wrote
to WNSL on 2 August 1999 seeking more detail of their outline
proposals for conversion of the stadium into athletics mode and
requesting they present these to the British Olympic Association
(BOA). Folowing a presentation by WNSL on 6 October 1999, the
BOA voiced a number of concerns to the Minister for Sport at a
meeting on 13 October 1999. A meeting of all interested parties,
chaired by the Minister for Sport was therefore called to discuss
the project on 19 October 1999. Those discussions did not satisfactorily
resolve the concerns raised by the BOA, and UK Sport were asked
to commission an independent report on the technical merits of
the WNSL proposals and asked the ESC for an assessment of the
costs of WNSL's proposals. ESC responded on 28 October.
24. The report, written by DLA Ellerbe Becket,
was received by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport on 29 November 1999 and raised a number of concerns about
the ability of the national stadium to meet the requirements of
athletics, in particular whether it could act as the centrepiece
of a UK bid to stage the Olympic Games. it also cast doubt on
whether the stadium in its current design could stage a World
Athletics Championship. The report raised such serious issues
that, following its submission to WNSL, UK Athletics, the BOA
and Sport England on 1 December, the Secretary of State felt it
appropriate to make a formal statement to Parliament [HOC 1
December 1999 Cols 305-313]
25. Given that a requirement of the Lottery
award from Sport England was that the national stadium could attract
and host major international athletics events as well as football
and rugby league, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport was keen to establish quickly the extent to which the technical
issues raised by DLA Ellerbe Becket could be addressed and asked
for a response to the report from WNSL and ESC by 15 December
1999. Considerable progress in resolving the difficult technical
issues raised by the DLA Ellerbe Becket report was made, with
the aim throughout to secure the best facilities possible for
staging international football, rugby league and athletics events,
to ensure that a lasting legacy was created for each sport, and
that the solution represented value for money.
26. WNSL successfully addressed many of
the concerns highlighted by DLA Ellerbe Becket and submitted its
draft response on 6 December 1999 and, following further discussion
with DLA Ellerbe Becket, submitted the final version to DCMS on
10 December 1999. However, it became clear that the proposed stadium
would not be the ideal for athletics, in particular the construction
and dismantling of the deck would require significant costs with
no permanent legacy for athletics, and that some of the sightlines
were of poor quality. The Secretary of State announced, therefore,
in a press notice issued on 22 December that, subject to the satisfactory
conclusion of further detailed discussions among the interested
parties, Wembley should be the focus of a world class stadium
for football and rugby league, and that alternative arrangements
should be made for athletics.
27. The separation of athletics from football
and rugby league will ensure that the stadium needs of each sport
are not compromised, the supporters of each sport are given certainty
for the future of their national stadium, and resources can be
focused on securing the best possible venue for each sport. This
will also facilitate the work of the Wembley Task Force in regenerating
the area surrounding a pre-eminent football and rugby league stadium.
And it brings greater clarity and certainty to the role of Wembley
as the centrepiece for our 2006 World Cup bid.
28. The ESC, the Football Association and
WNSL will discuss further the extent to which amendments are necessary
to the existing Lottery Funding Agreement to reflect Wembley's
role as the centrepiece for football and rugby league in England.
In the light of the prospective agreement between the ESC, the
Football Association and WNSL on a revised Lottery Funding Agreement
based on the new Wembley Stadium being focused on football and
rugby league, the Football Association has proposed that £20
million of the existing Lottery grant be returned to the ESC.
The return of this money to the ESC together with the sums the
ESC had earmarked for financing the conversion of Wembley to athletics
mode, for covering any loss of revenue while in athletics mode,
and for the purchase of land and construction of the athletics
warm-up facility adjacent to Wembley, will give the ESC scope
to consider alternative options for an athletics venue in London.
29. The ESC has, together with UK Sport,
UK Athletics, the BOA and the Department undertaken further work
on the non-Wembley options for staging international athletics
events. In this context, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has proposed
that Twickenham could be used for such events. Discussions are
underway between the Department, the ESC, the RFU and the London
Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The ESC is taking forward further
work to establish the viability of this, and other possible sites,
as the venue for the World Athletics Championships in 2005 and
further details will be announced once this work has been completed.
This work will be carried out in close cooperation with UK Athletics,
and the Government will wish to do everything possible to assist
a bid for the 2005 event. Sport England will also assess, with
the BOA, the extent to which possible venues can be readily upgraded
to accommodate Olympic requirements. The Government remains committed
to supporting a viable UK Olympic bid and is continuing its discussions
with the BOA, UK Sport, and Sport England on the possibilities
of a future London bid for the Olympic Games.
January 2000
| 
