The club appointed
N M Rothschild & Sons to examine its financial situation and advise whether it was feasible for construction to press ahead at the end of March 2003.
[55] Although Arsenal secured a £260 million loan from a group of banks led by the
Royal Bank of Scotland, the club suspended work on Ashburton Grove in April 2003, saying, "We have experienced a number of delays in arrangements for our new stadium project in recent months across a range of issues.
The impact of these delays is that we will now be unable to deliver a stadium opening for the start of the 2005–06 season."
[52][56] The cost of building the stadium, forecasted at £400 million, had risen by £100 million during that period.