Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly blamed ‘Brexit’ for the high cost of constructing their new stadium. It was earlier told by the club that the cost of the construction of new stadium would only be £400 million. However, the club recently admitted that the cost of the entire construction of the stadium would be around £800 million, which is almost twice as much as the original cost.
This is surely a ridiculous sum and an increase in the budget by 100% of the original amount is sure to shake up the club’s plans. Surprisingly, Tottenham have managed to carry on with their plans and the construction of the stadium without any halt.
The club even recently released the pictures of the stadium construction under progress and it was simply breath-taking.
The stadium will have 61,000 seats, which just slightly overtakes Arsenal’s Emirates stadium and will have the single-tier stand just 5 metres away from the goal line. It has also been said that the single-tier stand will be the largest in the country with 17,000 seats. The numbers are eye-popping and it surely is a massive step taken in by the club in their long and illustrious history.
The stadium will also have 9 floors, with a lot of unbelievable facilities and it is surely expected to set the mark for a modern football stadium.
In a mail to a fan, club director Donna Cullen squarely blamed that the United Kingdom, voting to leave the European Union as the reason for the hike in construction prices.
Cullen wrote: “Brexit has added a straight 20 percent on costs for foreign goods due to the exchange rate, overtime working and increased construction costs similarly. It is worth remembering that the original cost quoted for the stadium (£400m) was some seven years ago.
This new “estimated” figure (£800m) relates predominantly to the stadium with some elements of substructure for the other builds, particularly the Tottenham Experience. Revised basement works also added to the cost. We are constantly managing costs and will continue to do so throughout the process along with funding plans to ensure the viability of the scheme.”
Spurs are meant to play at Wembley next season in all competitions while White Hart Lane is demolished to make way for the final part of the new stadium next door.
However, fresh doubts have been thrown on where they will play next season. They have until the end of this month to activate their option with the FA to stage all home fixtures at Wembley. This is because Brent Council will rule on Wembley’s application to increase the number of full-capacity events at the national stadium between August 1 this year and July 31, 2018, will be approved during a meeting on March 23, 2017. If it is approved, then Tottenham will officially have full use of the venue’s 90,000 capacity for all their fixtures.
The stark increase in construction cost is surely a huge hurdle to overcome for Tottenham. But it seems like they are doing an extremely brilliant job in keeping things together and carrying on with their stadium plans.
Bravo Tottenham Bravo!
