Tottenham Won't Play in Its New Stadium in 2018

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the club will not play any fixtures at their new stadium until 2019.

Spurs released a statement on their website on Friday providing an update on the ground, in which chairman Daniel Levy confirmed the club is having issues with contractors:

"Whilst we are conscious of the need to keep pressure on our contractors to deliver as soon as possible, we are also acutely aware of how difficult the lack of clarity is for you, our supporters, to plan around games, particularly those at Christmas and New Year.

"In light of the above, and taking into account the restricted availability of manpower over the festive period, we have taken the decision to confirm today that all home games will be played at Wembley Stadium up to and including the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 29."

Jack Pitt-Brooke of the Independent provided further details:

Dan Kilpatrick of ESPN relayed further information from the statement regarding the club's finances:

Per BBC Sport, Spurs were initially expected to open their new home on September 15, but a number of issues have pushed back the first game at the venue, which is set to hold 62,000.

It's meant that Tottenham have continued to use Wembley for Premier League matches following their departure from White Hart Lane at the end of the 2016-17 campaign. Earlier in the campaign, Spurs played a home match at MK Dons' Stadium MK against Watford in the Carabao Cup.

Journalist Paul Brown believes Spurs supporters have every right to feel aggrieved at the fact that their new stadium doesn't have an opening date yet:

In a separate statement, Tottenham noted that fans "will be credited 1/19th of the price paid for your 2018-19 season ticket for each fixture" that has been affected by this latest setback.

While the constant speculation that surrounds the stadium will be an annoyance for Tottenham fans, on the pitch the team continues to grind away, as they sit in fifth place and just two points off the top of the table in their best-ever start to a Premier League season.

However, they play champions Manchester City at Wembley on Monday, and the playing surface at the national stadium is expected to be in poor condition as a result of the Philadelphia Eagles' clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL a day earlier.