Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- William Hill Plc, the U.K.'s second- largest bookmaker, slashed the odds on whether London's Wembley national soccer stadium will host England's F.A. Cup final in May, citing press reports and demand for wagers.

A six-pound ($11) winning bet that the stadium won't be ready would pay 3 pounds, or odds of 1/2, compared with a payoff of five pounds previously, the company said in an e-mailed press release today. It's offering odds of 6/4 that the 757 million- pound stadium will meet the deadline. For the first time, the odds show Wembley probably won't be ready, the company said.

Construction of the world's most expensive sports ground has been slowed by subcontractor and union disputes. Multiplex Group, the Australian contractor, said Dec. 21 that it may miss the completion deadline and cut its profit forecast for the fifth time last year. Today's edition of the Daily Mail said delays to a pedestrian walkway have now ruined the schedule.

``With the latest bit of news, punters now think it's unlikely that the stadium will be finished in time, and the odds reflect that,'' said Rupert Adams, a William Hill spokesman in London, in an interview.

While Multiplex plans to start handing over the stadium in January to the Football Association and to complete construction by the end of March, there ``remains a material risk that these dates will not be achieved and the stadium will not be available'' for the Cup final, the company said last month. It has already said it would miss a January handover deadline.

Any chance of the new Wembley Stadium being finished for the May 13 F.A. Cup final has ``effectively disappeared'' because of a four-month delay in building the walkway to the arena, the Daily Mail reported. A dispute with Quintain Estates, a local landowner, means the path won't be finished until ``well into May,'' the paper added.

An F.A. spokesman said the association still expects Wembley will host the F.A. Cup final. Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, which first staged the showpiece in 2001, has been provisionally booked for the event.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Lysaght in London at blysaght@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 4, 2006 11:20 EST