Twin towers may be saved

And, when the whole scheme collapsed five months later, Sir Rodney approached Genesis to ask if it would be interested in putting forward alternative proposals.

The consortium, led by sports marketing specialist Patrick Nally, came up with a scheme which had the backing of consultants Andersen and soccer's world governing body FIFA and the International Association of Athletics Federations.

In fact, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and IAAF secretary-general Istvan Gyulai wrote letters of support to Nally encouraging Genesis and its attempts to keep the twin towers and Wembley as the home of the English national stadium.

It would cost just under £700m in total, would see Wembley rebuilt with a capacity of 91,600 and would keep the twin towers as its landmark feature. The new stadium would, like the FA's first-choice plan, be funded from the income from the sale of more than 15,000 corporate seats but would include hi-tech smart seats which would allow fans to watch replays of key moments, access instant statistics and order food through an interactive screen built into their seat.

It would also have a sliding roof which would allow an increased number of concerts and nonsporting events and could, through laying a track and field platform and blockingout both ends, be adapted for World Championship athletics with a capacity of around 45,000.

Genesis calculated it needed to raise £440m from outside sources to pay for the project.

But unlike Multiplex's current plan to take out a syndicated loan through city banks, it would be covered by a bond which, it claims, Credit Suisse First Boston has agreed to underwrite. An extra £40m would also be provided by an unnamed property company.

The consortium, who hired American architects DLA Ellerbe Becket to draw up the new-look designs, acknowledges that the plans are behind the current ones because Multiplex already has planning permission from Brent Council.

But it says it has spoken to the council and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and they are supportive, in principle. Genesis argues that its plans may take longer to get started but it would only take two years to complete the construction of the stadium, whereas the current scheme will take three years.

Genesis also argues that its scheme would require no money from the FA. All it would have to do to support the project would be to agree to play England and FA Cup matches at Wembley and in return it would share half of any surplus made by the stadium. Standard Sport has been shown detailed outlines of the Genesis scheme which, it says, is a much simpler and less risky project than the one the FA has agreed to undertake.

Patrick Carter, the Government's sports troubleshooter who carried out a review of the national stadium project concluding Wembley was the best site, looked at the Genesis scheme during his inquiry. It is mentioned briefly in his findings.

But Nally says he has received little interest from the FA. This week's talks will be the first official meeting he has had with the FA since being invited by Sir Rodney to lead a reanalysis of the Genesis proposals last summer.

He believes the FA is trying to "cherry pick" the best parts of the Genesis scheme to help its own plan work. "We are flexible on this," he said. "We just want to try and ensure Wembley is redeveloped as the best stadium in the world."

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