Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan has withdrawn his efforts toward purchasing Wembley Stadium in London.
Khan, who also owns Premier League soccer club Fulham, put out a statement on Wednesday saying he will no longer be moving forward with his bid to buy the famous soccer stadium. The NFL has also played games at Wembley Stadium.
The 68-year-old Khan cited only “a slim majority” of the Football Association Council that supports his bid. Khan, who had offered 600 million pounds (approximately $790 million), said he is open to trying to buy the stadium again.
“Unfortunately, given where we are today, I’ve concluded that the outcome of a vote next week would be far from sufficient in expressing the broad support favored by the FA Chairman to sell Wembley Stadium,” Khan said in a statement. “Until a time when it is evident there is an unmistakable directive from the FA to explore and close a sale, I am respectfully withdrawing my offer to purchase Wembley Stadium.”
Khan previously said that he wanted the London site to play host to the NFL’s marquee game: the Super Bowl. He also told the BBC that if he successfully owned Wembley Stadium that he’d push for his new purchase to host the world’s biggest events.
“Our role would be to provide a world-class venue,” Khan said in May. “Wembley is a great stadium and you want to get it configured to hold Super Bowl and World Cup finals.”
The notion of purchasing the stadium was viewed by many as a step toward Khan potentially moving the Jaguars to London — a move he has repeatedly denied.
