The rebuilding of Wembley Stadium has cost
£757m
Construction firm Multiplex is expected to hand over the keys to
the new Wembley Stadium on Friday.
The final few tests are set to be carried out and the practical
completion of the £757m complex is said to be imminent.
The symbolic handover to the Football Association moved another
step nearer on Thursday when a safety certificate for the fire
alarm system was issued.
It means the FA Cup final is almost certain to be at Wembley on 19
May.
The handover of the keys is more than a year late, having
originally been scheduled for January 2006, and the cost of the
project has increased dramatically because of the delay.
The first of two test events needed to get a safety certificate
will then be a community day for 60,000 people to test the
facilities on 17 March.
There will be a mini-football tournament on the day involving
celebrity teams, and visitors will also help the organisers test
facilities such as the turnstiles, escalators and toilets.
The second test event will be an England Under-21 match a week
against their Italian counterparts on 24 March, and unless there
are unforeseen problems, a safety certificate will be awarded in
time for the FA Cup final to take place.
Finally Ready