EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ The opening of the New York Red Bulls' US$140-million stadium has been pushed back two months until September 2008 because of delays in the cleanup of industrial waste and foundations at the stadium site.

Any more delays in the completion of the Red Bull Park in Harrison would force the team to play its entire 2008 MLS season at Giants Stadium, managing director Marc de Grandpre said Monday.

De Grandpre said that oil and old structures have been found below the surface at the construction site and ``it takes time to clean them up.''

Peter Higgins, chairman of the Harrison Redevelopment Agency, said there was very little unforeseen contamination since ground was broken in September and that the majority of the delay was caused by the discovery of subsurface structures.

``It's building foundations, huge concrete slabs, concrete monoliths that probably supported cranes or heavy machinery of some type,'' Higgins said in a telephone interview.

Higgins said some of the slabs are 40 centimetres in diameter and 1.2 metres thick, and they have been found on different portions of the old industrial site that included a pipe factory.

The additional site work will cost more than originally budgeted, Higgins said, adding that the team will pay the bill. He did not know how much it would cost.

``To be two months behind schedule at this point is not a minor delay,'' Higgins said.

Had the stadium opened on time, the Red Bulls would have played about 10 home games next season at the new stadium. It is a 25,000-seat facility that will feature a ``European-style'' roof that covers all the seats and 53 luxury suites situated 12 rows from the field.

With a September completion, the team would play about five home games at Red Bull Park.

The Red Bulls, who were known as the MetroStars until last season, have played the past 11 seasons at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands sports complex.

Anschutz Entertainment Group, which began looking to build the stadium six years ago, owned the MetroStars until March 2006, when it sold the team and a half-interest in the stadium to Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull.

AEG also owns the Chicago Fire, Houston Dynamo, and Los Angeles Galaxy, and built the $150 million Home Depot Center complex for the Galaxy in 2003.

With surrounding infrastructure, Red Bull Park will cost $200 million and be the centrepiece of a $1 billion construction project that will include office space, retail outlets and housing across the Passaic River from Newark.