Will The New Stadium Make Spurs the Best Team in London?

Tottenham revealed their massive new stadium project in July, which is set to rival Arsenal’s Emirates as the greatest in London. Features of the dramatic new project include a huge 17,000-seat single-tier stand (the largest of its kind in the country), a 180-room hotel, a ‘Sky Walk’ on top of the stadium, plus a new building to host extreme sports – including the tallest indoor climbing wall in the world.

Part of the new development includes a deal with the NFL, which will see at least two American football games being hosted at the stadium each year, bringing in £3 million per game. The ground is thus being built with extra NFL facilities, including bigger dressing rooms, a retractable grass pitch and an alternative artificial turf surface.

The club hopes this visually-stunning new stadium will not only be the finest in London, but the world. Is this realistic? Let’s look at some of the benefits it is likely to bring to the club and the local area as a whole.

It Will Be the Biggest AND The Most Intimate Ground in London

The Emirates has a max capacity of 60,432, whereas Spurs’ new stadium will accommodate 61,000, making it exactly 0.9398993910510988% bigger. Football is a game of small margins, hence why those extra seats will make all the difference!

Atmosphere is also a huge factor. Whilst the Emirates is an impressive stadium, Arsenal famously fail to fill it and the atmosphere is terrible inside. Spurs, on the other hand will have a single-tier stand, which will be the biggest in the UK, designed to create an intimate relationship between the players and spectators – so the famous White Hart Lane atmosphere will certainly be here to stay!

The Surrounding Area Will Be Transformed

It’s good to see that Tottenham will be staying at White Hart Lane, meaning lots of investment, jobs and facilities for the local area. Claire Kober, the local Council Leader, is especially excited by the positive changes the stadium is sure to bring:

“Spurs’ commitment to Tottenham – not only through building their new stadium, but also in delivering new housing, jobs and facilities for local people – has always been central to our ambitious wider regeneration plans, offering the opportunity to bring more than £400 million investment into the area.”

Although this won’t necessarily give them an on-field advantage, loyalty to the fans and the local area is sure to bring huge benefits to the club as a brand.

New Players Will Have the Best Support Possible

Tottenham have been keen to recruit young talents from their academy, and with the new stadium built, new players like Harry Kane, Ryan Mason, and Nabil Bentaleb will have a fantastic setting within which to grow and develop. Spurs currently lack the financial power and record of success to attract the world’s top talent, hence why they are keen to spot players when they are below the radar and cost a lot less.

And what a confidence boost this will be for a young player performing to a packed 61,000 crowd – and think of the loyalty it will instil. These boys are the future of the club, after all.

The only question is whether manager Mauricio Pochettino can continue to inspire. There is something of a feel-good factor surrounding the club at the moment, with a cup final on the horizon and bookmakers tipping them for a top 4 finish. Can we see a day when Spurs – in their new home and with home-grown players – are the new top dogs in the capital?

Spurs Will Be Turned into A Global Brand

The world-class facilities – the pitch, the accommodation, and the extreme sports building – will make this project not just a football stadium, but “an iconic landmark, instantly recognisable around the world and capable of acting as the catalyst needed to kick-start the regeneration of this area” (as Chairman Daniel Levy says). There are hopes that it will become a tourist attraction in itself, turning Spurs into a global hub of activity.

The NFL deal, in addition, will be a huge boost to the brand, bringing lots of publicity to Spurs in the US. America is a huge and lucrative market, and this deal will continue to boost the popularity of ‘soccer’ at least for the next 10 years.

Although the anticipated opening date has been revised many times, it is currently scheduled for the 2018–19 season.