Daniel Levy ready to seduce the devil
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 11:10AM It was always going to happen. With the new stadium development in full swing, the club are fluttering their eyelashes at the corporate potential a new ground posesses, which financially (it would seem) is impossible for them to ignore.
Welcome Tarquin. I hope you enjoy your stay. Make sure you visit the club shop.
If you’re a member/season ticket holder you’ll have received a survey asking for your valued opinions relating to a lavish VIP area that will consist of all things non-football. You know, like wi-fi and padded chairs. And the hook? Long-term purchase of seats. 10 year ownership. The bane of the Emirates.
Welcome to the Tottenham Hotspur Founder seats. American Express Platinum at the ready.
Initially I actually thought it would be some sort of scheme for the common man to hold onto their seats for a decade. But then what common man could possibly afford forking out for these exclusive cinemaesque thrones? I guess just the common man turned self-made millionaire who wouldn’t blink at writing out a 20k cheque for the privilege of a few hours of luxury with around 90 minutes of football thrown in somewhere in the middle, if they’re actually interested in the football. With a free subscription to What Prawn? magazine they maybe otherwise engaged.
The stereotype alarm is ringing in my ears. Yes, rich people can enjoy football too, but its best enjoyed from a normal seat with minimum distractions. Anyone willing to sit on a corporate balcony with a waitress serving ribs is quite obviously missing the point. But there’s tragically a market for this type of thing. Football is no longer about just the common man with his plastic bottle of beer and pie in hand. It’s an entertainment industry and the plans Levy and co have is the next logical progression from the almost low-key in comparison, executive box. Bigger stadium, bigger scope. Plastics bottles replaced with plastic fans.
I don’t want to appear to be repeating the same things that you may have already read on the subject (NorthLondonPride has more or less hit the same nail on the head) so apologies if I appear to be echoing the obvious sentiments.
(Levy you can) Cater for this minority if you so wish if it helps pay the bills but do try to wash away the getting into bed with the devil ethics of giving them the benefits of priority applications to cup and away games. Not that I could possibly imagine any of them socialising with the Park Lane boys on a trip to Stoke. But still. Loyalty should be served up to the ones who have been here all their lives. Hopefully the survey results will be positive in our favour. Best to find another way of paying the bills.
So far all the development plans have been spot on. Crowd nearer to the pitch than other newly built stadiums is a nice touch for bread and butter supporters. Why would I possibly need a leather cushioned seat with extended leg room and pre-match hot buffet when a cheeky burger will do while I stand up for the whole game singing at full pelt? But the problem is, such a seat is not meant for the likes of me.
Founder members wall plaque that will be displayed publically? How about a statue of Sir Bill Nicholson? A wall full of Tarquins is vanity driven drivel. Although the ‘meet the chairman’ event isn’t something I would dismiss out of hand. Although the court order would.
I guess the question, to avoid an Emirates/Wembley style lack of atmosphere, is just how many of these Founder Seats are the club going to make available? If it remains a very small minority that isn’t detrimental to the rest of the ground, then I probably won’t bat an eyelid. Let alone flutter one.
Looking forward to the update on the survey results.
Reader Comments (14)
I answered the survey yesterday and said I was more than prepared to go along for a further chat. I will state here and now though, there is no way I will be able to do this (or afford to), especially as I have to pay for 2 season tickets. I think the PR about the success of the 2 year season ticket is nonsense - I would love to know how many took up that particular offer. I didn't. Answers please in your replies.
In the future, when all other football clubs have been forced to reduce the price of their own season tickets, because of fan pressure, where will that have left those who have committed to this scheme for 10 years?
IT`s a shame that the so called supporter pressure can`t stop the allocation of these so called executive areas, if we want an atmosphere at the NEW WHL, then a very limited executive business area is needed and welcomed by the majority of the Spurs faithful.
Or, a big welcome to White Hart Library.
COYS!
if the pressure for cash is so great why not press the governemnt to allow standing areas back in grounds as it seems only football are subject to this criteria
If you want this club to be a financial success we are going to have to accept stuff like this.
On the up side it will not be a large part of ther stadium but what bothers me is these 'Founder Members' will not be the life long supporters who attend through thick and thin, they'll be the rich or corporate sorts . Tickets will be shared around with family and work mates, or used to entertain clients. No normal loyal fan would want to sit amngst them, even with food and beer served to their seat, as the atmoshpere will be rubbish.
As long as these 'founder members' do not get the best seats or priority for the big games/away matches because they will simply attend all the glamour ties and the normal fan will suffer.
As for the atmosphere, overall i do not think it will suffer. Highbury was always quiet so its no surprise that a large Emirates stadium full of fans and football tourists has dilluted the atmosphere further. Wembley is a different thing, they host some of the largest matches on offer, club and international, so the corporate side of that was always going to be popular and expensive. The WHL atmosphere will be dilluted by a big stadium, its inevitable, but at least we are starting from a noisy atmospheric base.
I say fine, stick them on the half way line, half way up the stand so they have a great view, a comfy seat and will pay through the nose. Restrict their numbers to a few thousand and the atmosphere will not suffer but the coffers will benefit.
I would like to see similar long term options provided to normal fans. I would love to secure my seat for 10 years but am not interested in any of the frills and add ons that the 'founder members' will have to pay big dollar for.
I agree Desonshirespur. It's a horrible bitter taste to swallow but if the £££ come rolling in and they don't get the perks the loyal run of the mill fans deserve, then I can just about ignore this as a zit on the backside of the club.
You can secure your seat for as long as you want simply by renewing your season ticket every year, surely?
Can't fault Levy for securing a bit of money up front from people who have a bit (well, a lot) of money to throw about, although the sales of the Opus would suggest otherwise. Not sure what type of fan this attracts though. We could end up with a similar situation to L'Arse where the vast sums of money it costs to watch games result in fans booing their own players or walking out after 60mins when they're not happy with their 'investment'.
In fact the wife works with an Aston Villa fan who thought it would be a good idea to get on the waiting list for an Arse season ticket for when his baby son gets a bit older. They live in North London and "he'll probably end up being a gooner" (should I call Childline?). Seems the waiting list wasn't as long as they made out and he got one almost immediately. Karma, eh?
Having given it a bit more thought I propose that anyone buying one of these 10 year season tickets should be made to submit to a Citizenship test style exam whereby they pledge allegance to the club badge, recite Ossie's Dream in full and reel off all of the clubs honours in chronological order. Should help weed out the time wasters.
As regards to the return of standing. It will only be feasible if these areas were allocated only to season ticket holders to guarantee the safety of themselves and others.
yep it may be a way of getting a season ticket which could be an investment ie sell after five years........
double the price to some great big prawn in the city.........but the prawn gang.....is a reflection of our society so...
i know i would not want to not be with the core supporters........
this is a result of modern times........I suppose levy has no choice......I hope the
foyers selling food etc for the normal supporter is not a rip off like wembley like 7 quid for a hot dog etc
give something of good value to spurs fans please Mr levy
There was a right and a wrong way to go about this, and spurs as usual have chosen the wrong one (or the greedier one, whichever way you look at it)
Burnley told their fans 2 seasons ago that if they bought a 2 year season ticket then if they were promoted they would give those fans their first premiership season ticket free of charge. It has cost them £2 million but their chairman said he is happy to reward the loyalty of those fans. That's the right way. Even if Levy gave an option to pay for a 5 year deal and fans would receive a re-bate if ticket prices went down, that would have been ok.
I read my survey immediately after paying a booking fee on my membership renewal, as well as paying a booking fee on every other ticket ive ordered this season. It says it all about Levy, he doesn't care about our identity just the corporate and business side of things.
In my opinion, these 'founder member' plates should be replaced by the founder ,e,ebers being the people who've held a season ticket longest at spurs at the time of the new stadium opening. They've probably supported the club financially more over theyears than the prawn sandwich brigade who offer a quick cash injection for a 10 year corporate client entertainment base. I would personally be sickened by seeing their names up. I'm sure out of the people rich enough to afford these seats, the real fans from that pick would rather be sitting in a normal seat whatever the cost, and fair play to them.
How can we expect our board and a bunch of high flying developers and architects to consider the needs of the average fan? Most of them were born into corporate hospitality. On the other hand, we were the first English club to purpose build a stand with corporate boxes way back in 1982 so it should come as no surprise.
With regards to our stadium ending up like another Wembley/Emirates, it'll never happen. Was Wembley void of an atmosphere on our consecutive Carling Cup Final appearances? No, because whether in a shoebox without a roof or a diamond encrusted palace, you put Spurs fans watching a Spurs team and youll get an atmosphere.
The only thing that will stop this is pricing our existing fanbase out of the game, which is something i already feel has happened to a degree. I'm unable to provide my nephews with the same footballing education that my dad was able to give me for purely financial reasons. I'd never be able to afford the cost of another persons entrance to WHL, let alone 3 season tickets like my dad used to shell out for year after year. To sum it up, my dad(now 60 years old) has already chosen the one game he'd like me to take him to next season above all others - Spurs vs Burnley, the same fixture he first watched at WHL during the 1960-61 double season.There was no mention of "glamour" ties against Man Utd or Liverpool, no local derbies against our old enemies, his crystal clear memories of a thrilling 4-4 draw in early December of our most successful season ever are more than enough for it to be the first fixture i'll be looking for when they're published next month.
Having watched from various areas of the ground since 1962 , and now with a few bob in my pocket , I can assure you that it is an enjoyable experience to go corporate on the odd occasion. If I had a few more bob in my pocket I would happily shell out for an all singing and all dancing seat and I bet you would to if you were honest.There's nothing wrong with being rich and a fan.
Lend us a tenner guv.
What is wrong with this? Their are an additional 24,000 seats, so if their are people who have more money and enjoy spending it, whats the problem ? Everyone has seen what has happened to Arsenals finances since they build a new stadium, so I suggest we make as much money as we can !!
Ive never commented on this site before, sorry but its poort