§ Mr. WyattTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) when the contract to establish the Wembley Trust with the FA and the English Sports Council will be announced; [75852]
(2) how much money has been spent on the purchase of Wembley plc by (a) the English Sports Council and (b) the Government. [75853]
§ Mr. BanksLottery funding of £120 million has been awarded by the English Sports Council towards the purchase of the existing Wembley stadium from Wembley plc, and its reconstruction as a National Stadium for football, rugby league and athletics. No Government funding has been provided.
The English National Stadium Development Company is responsible for taking reconstruction work forward. The English National Stadium Trust, which already exists as a charitable company limited by guarantee, will act as a watchdog for the public interests in the project.
The Wembley sale was finalised on 15 March. We now have a firm foundation from which to drive the National Stadium project forward which is great news for the 2006 World Cup bid, and our efforts to bring major international sporting events to this country.