§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage if she will make a statement on the proposed new national football and athletics stadium at Wembley. [17100]
§ Mr. SproatI welcome the decision announced by the Sports Council on 17 December 1996 that Wembley is to be the proposed site for the new 80,000 all-seater English national stadium for athletics, football, and rugby league, and will receive a lottery award of £120 million towards the total project costs of around £210 million. This decision is a good example of the Government's commitment to facilitate, through the national lottery, the development of the necessary sporting infrastructure to enable this country to attract to these shore top international events—such as the football World Cup in 2006 and the world athletics championships in either 2001 or 2003.