The completion of Brentford FC’s stadium has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The 17,500-seat arena was expected to complete later this month. However, the project’s contractor, Buckingham Group, decided to pause the bulk of construction work at the West London site, Brentford FC chief executive Jon Varney said.

In an open letter, Varney confirmed the contractor had halted construction to allow a safety evaluation of the site to be undertaken.

Ongoing work on the £60m stadium will be limited to the completion of hazardous electrical works in addition to safety-critical maintenance and work to security areas. The situation will be reviewed by the contractor every two weeks.

In the letter, Varney said: “Given the evolving situation regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible at this stage to reliably forecast when the new stadium will be fully complete.�

Work at the 4-hectare site, which is situated within a triangle of railway lines, started in April 2018.