LONDON (REUTERS) - Tottenham Hotspur will play home matches at Wembley next season while they finish building a new stadium on the site of their White Hart Lane ground, the English Premier League club confirmed on Friday.

Second-placed Spurs will use the 90,000-capacity national stadium before moving into a new, £800 million (S$1.44 billion) home, which will be ready for the 2018-19 season.

"This marks a momentous day in our club's history as it is the day we formally agreed the demolition of our beloved White Hart Lane," chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement on the club website (www.tottenhamhotspur.com) after a board meeting.

"The Lane means a huge amount to... us and we needed to gain greater certainty on the delivery of the new stadium before we made the final decision to commence with the decommissioning of our iconic, historic home for some 118 years.

"We shall ensure that we give the Lane a fitting farewell when we play our last match here on May 14," Levy added.

Tottenham, who are four points behind London rivals Chelsea in the race for the league title, host Manchester United in their final home league game of the season.

"Wembley will be our home for a season and then we shall return to... one of the best stadiums of its kind and the most unique in the world playing host to NFL (National Football League) games too -- a stadium that will be key to our future growth and success," said Levy.