British athletics chief David Moorcroft today ruled out any prospect of including track and field in a redeveloped Wembley stadium.
A project to rebuild the national soccer stadium stalled after the Football Association conceded it was unable to raise enough money from the private sector.
In a telephone interview today Moorcroft said original plans for an athletics track at Wembley were not now viable and UK Athletics would concentrate on building a stadium in north London to host the 2005 world championships.
"We have got to deliver the world championships in 2005 but we also want to deliver a really strong legacy to the sport," Moorcroft said. "Wembley would have been just a temporary solution."
Moorcroft said a national athletics stadium would differ from a national soccer venue.
"Football wants an elite pitch several times a year for elite players," he said. "What athletics wants is elite athletes mixing with grassroots athletes and up-and-coming youngsters."
Today the department of Culture, Media and Sport in Britain announced it had given an extra £8 million sterling in government funding for the new stadium at Picketts Lock in Enfield.