Tottenham Stadium Opening Delayed; Premier League Matches, NFL Game Moved

The opening of the new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur has been delayed because of "issues with the critical safety systems," forcing several Premier League matches and at least one NFL game to be moved to Wembley Stadium.

According to BBC Sport, Spurs were scheduled to play their first match in the new ground on September 15. All matches up until the Manchester City fixture on October 28 have already been moved, and the status of that one is still unclear.

Meanwhile, the NFL already put out a statement confirming the switch of the game between the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks:

Per the BBC, Spurs had already agreed to play their first home match of the season, this Saturday against local rivals Fulham, at Wembley. The national stadium was already used as the club's home ground while construction on the new arena took place.

As shared by Rob Harris of the Associated Press, the news didn't come as a major surprise, as the NFL had warned the stadium might not be ready in time earlier this year:

Spurs left their iconic White Hart Lane stadium at the end of the 2016-17 season, temporarily moving to Wembley while the new ground was constructed where the old had stood. Before that, they had already used Wembley for European matches.

Wembley initially proved a bad fit, as the pitch size was ill-suited for their style of play and plenty of poor results followed, per the Telegraph's Alistair Tweedale. 

Spurs eventually figured the ground out, however, leading to a third-placed finish in the Premier League last year. 

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Wembley has been regularly used for the NFL International Series since 2007, when the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins played the first regular-season game outside of North America. It proved a huge success, leading to more games, a regular series in Mexico City and a trip to Twickenham Stadium.

Many saw the NFL's partnership with Spurs and the use of their stadium as the next step toward a permanent franchise in London, although Shahid Khan's bid for Wembley Stadium indicated a return to that ground, per the Guardian's Les Carpenter. 

Khan owns both the Jacksonville Jaguars, arguably the most likely candidate for relocation, and Fulham FC, a London-based Premier League club.