The signing of a £750 million sterling deal to replace London's Wembley Stadium with a new 90,000-seat arena has been delayed until at least tomorrow, the English Football Association (FA) said today.
The FA had been expected to sign the 42 documents backing the project today but said talks with bankers will now run over for another day.
"There are documents to go through but I'm not here to debate details. I'll tell you when there's anything to tell," FA spokesman Mr Paul Newman told reporters outside the association's London headquarters.
"I can't really say anything more than that."
Under a preliminary agreement signed in May, German bank Westdeutsche Landesbank agreed to fund the bulk of the project costs, injecting a loan of £426 million.
Earlier, a source said the demolition of Wembley Stadium - including its famous twin towers - could start as early as this weekend.
"The bulldozers are throbbing ... (the demolition) could begin this weekend but there are safety and other issues," the source said.
The estimated cost of the Wembley project, partly funded with money from Britain's National Lottery, has more than trebled since the government announced plans to build a new English national stadium in 1996.