N17: Home is where the heart is
Friday, November 19, 2010 at 11:48AM There's been plenty of debate and opinion in the past few days, spurned on in addition by David Lammy (Tottenham MP) who revealed via Twitter that Daniel Levy is serious about the Stratford bid. Well he's hardly not going to be serious is he? Of course he's serious. Levy is a business man and his responsibility is to THFC, unequivocally and unquestionable. Although the health and financial clout of ENIC is also of utmost importance. A new stadium would equate to our overall value quadrupling and some. It's about revenue and we have a power-house of a fan base, just not enough seats at the minute.
We all know this redevelopment and approval lark has dragged on and on, even though the reality is - it's just been going through the standard application process. Seems like we're all now tap dancing around the last hurdle. A substantial amount of work has gone into the vision and re-designs of the Northumberland Redevelopment Project. The question marks have always been about the transport links and traffic issues getting in and out of N17. Which is apparently one reason why moving to Stratford is a viable option. No more walking up Tottenham High Road rushing for the bus. Or leaving the game ten minutes early (that's for all the West Standers amongst you) and missing a late <insert promoted side here> winner.
Okay, so there are countless facets to this for and against argument. And plenty has been said already (mostly from the three stooges over in Green Street) about how we would not be allowed to uproot and move from one Borough to another (hey, if we did, we'd be so close to them lot they'll have a right to call us their rivals and it would mean something…derby matches against Orient would be guaranteed sell-outs. If they ever got themselves into the Prem that is).
I've even heard that Boris himself (a week or so away from announcing his approval/disapproval of the Northumberland project) invited Spurs to bid for Stratford. Supposedly because we would be far more beneficial to the area and the Olympic stadium in terms of fan base, money and stature. Sub-plots about running tracks and concerts don't sit well with me. But if there is no running track and the stadium could be touched up to include even more seats etc etc - financially, it would be the easier option to take/be given. Purely from the perspective of progression and cost. If we're talking about the club as a business entity. Far fewer headaches and possibly far more accommodating politically.
Haringey are tiresome and draining and it would seem not fully appreciative that without the club all they would have left in Tottenham is that quite wonderful kebab house just past the Paxton Rd and on the opposite side of the high road where they wrap up your chips in pita bread. Probably not worth a visit every other week if there's no dessert to feast on just after 3pm. However, they've approved the plans regardless.
Back to Levy. At the time that Spurs officially bid (confirmed their interest) in the Olympic Stadium, I was advised this was astute and shrewd of Mr Chairman. Covering all bases. Think about it. We have plans to knock down and build a brand spanking new stadium just to the side of WHL. It would aid in the regeneration of the surrounding area. The local council know this. All the reports and surveys and various must haves (i.e. the listed buildings) are simply standard hurdles. The final one is where Boris now stands, but he wont be the one jumping, just rubber-stamping. All the tap dancing being had is by us, the press, West Ham, MP's and journalists.
Levy had to declare interest in Stratford because if the NRP was rejected, we'd be stuck with our 36,000 capacity. We might still be stuck in Tottenham if there's an uproar and riots back in East London, a few miles from the border into the North. Sullivan with staff screaming, you shall not pass. The Lilywhite Balrog defeated. Karren Brady at the time made a big deal of Levy not telling her about it, presumably via Facebook. She misses the point like many. It's not about her or her poxy little club or anybody outside of THFC. It's about Tottenham Hotspur. And I applaud Levy for his tunnelled focus on making sure that whatever happens no rock is left unturned. Because the risk of ending up with nothing would be a disaster.
Levy, at his Machiavellian best you might say, could have initially used Stratford to pressure Haringey. But its gone to the Mayor so there is very little to be gained from political blackmail and at the end of the day, if there existed a third option he'd have probably gone after that with equalled motivation. Boris might do what's best for London or he might just opt to give us what we want. Levy is continuing on both fronts because he would be wholly unprofessional if he didn't. One thing is for certain, unlike us - he's not split in the middle. Levy knows what is best - from his perspective - for the club. Deep down. Everything he does, we question and attempt to second guess and decipher. Patience, not much of a virtue.
This is where it gets fragmented. If you had to guess, which way would you go?
What side of the fence do you sit on?
On the one hand you could argue that Tottenham, it's essence, is the fans. We are the club. We get charged up to £50 - £70 per game for the privilege, but it's still all about us (although modern football is making the majority more and more disposable and replaceable with each passing decade). Some clubs, if they upped and moved would not need to offer cut-price tickets to re-generate a buzz. Although there still remains a risk of a curse not too dissimilar to the one Man City fans find themselves in.
We're the heart of the club. No matter where we are you could argue we would perceiver and make the most of it. If we moved away from N17, the club and its traditions would move with us. Sentimental, romantic notions of 'our patch' and the Glory Glory nights under the floodlights at the Lane - will remain strong in our history, and never be forgotten. We still lose WHL if we rebuild just next to it. So what difference moving a few miles away? It's not like we're moving from South London to North London? We'll just be moving the THFC franchise a few miles up the road. No need for a breakaway club. No change of name. Agree? Disagree? FC Hotspur of Tottenham anyone?
So up the road. To the Gardens of Babylon of East London. So what of the area?
Quite a number of European clubs have their grounds in not so glamorous surroundings. I guess moving from Tottenham to Stratford wouldn't make that much of a difference either way. Although Stratford will have some trees so obviously it's going to be prettier. I lived for some time in Leyton, stones throw from Stratford. Anyone know this part of the world? Allow me to describe it to you. There is a tradition for local residents to throw their broken tv sets and old and stained bed mattresses outside in the street. In fact, any old rubbish, just dump it outside because someone will pick it up.
Gang warfare from teenagers with knives to the East Europeans, muggings, killings, drunken fights in the streets, pockets of poverty and run down buildings aplenty. A lack of respect. It's a bit like moving from Basrah to Baghdad. Or say, I don't know, from Tottenham to Stratford. Hmm.
People from that part of the world might think I'm being harsh, but I'm just picking up on the bad things that outweigh the good. Much like you would for N17. Both, personally, from the perspective of living there, are hardly paragons of beauty to look at. But then in regards to Spurs, the high road is something you walk down to get to the ground. It's not the reason for going to Tottenham. WHL is.
It's all fairly redundant. Most parts of London are rundown, unless we decided to build a stadium in the middle of Knightsbridge.
So who gives a f*ck where the stadium sits when all that matters is what goes on inside it?
We are Tottenham. That's all that matters. Right?
If Spurs and Levy genuinely believe we will be paralysed in parts with the transport aspect (would cost billions to extend the Victoria Line) of staying in N17 (the only negative long term issue worthy of discussion, well that and the 'just under 60,000 capacity') then I'll have to suck it up. Spurs will be around long after I'm gone. But as colourful as all the rhetoric is from all corners and taking in all the pros and cons of going or staying - I'm going to go with my heart. Because that's how I follow football. Gut feelings.
I will be shocked and surprised if Boris doesn't give the green light.
I will be shocked and surprised if Levy's vision, his priority, is not to stay in North London.
I will be shocked and surprised if the whole progress and process of submitting and re-designing the Northumberland Redevelopment Project that came with the hardly unsurprising initial rejections and demands of change has forced Levy into changing his focus from North to East Northish East London.
I will be shocked and surprised if after all this, Levy always knew that the cost of building a stadium in N17 would have a detrimental effect on the club in terms of transfers in and out long term and that the real ruse was the project and thus the real target was Stratford.
We could be here all day drowning deep in conspiracy theories and agendas (is Lammy tweeting for his own personal gains to look good or is he being played by Levy or are they both in on it? See what I mean?)
My heart says we don't want to move and there is very little chance of Boris rejecting it and that the fact its got as far as being sent to his office for final approval means that its practically done and dusted. IMO.
Tottenham Hotspur, the experience, it's match-day traditions and its soul is in the heart of N17, Tottenham. It's home. Even with the police signs calling for witnesses littering the high road and the distinct lack of pretty buildings. It's home. The pubs and the long walk down from Seven Sisters. The ridiculous queues to get a train from White Hart Lane station into Liverpool Street post-match. None of it actually matters. And yet it does. But then who cares as long as Spurs win?
It's our territory. It's our land. Just for one or two days every couple of weeks.
Sentimental, I guess I am after all. Stratford would feel like an away day, detached from the past. For a while perhaps. And having just under 60,000 in N17 would make the various queues even longer. But personally, I'd rather have the atmosphere of having the majestic swashbuckle of our club in a derelict area than moving outside of the place we are named after into the heartland of Orient and West Ham United.
A derelict area with a shiny new polished stadia in the middle of it.
If I lack ambition or perhaps allowing sentimentality to cloud my judgement, sorry. My heart rules. If Levy or you think otherwise then so be it.
And I guess my heart is also telling me I'm a traditionalist. If it was good enough for Bill Nicholson to live up the road from, then its good enough for me to travel to from my humble village dwellings just outside the M25 in Essex. To be honest I still have issues with losing White Hart Lane (the ground and it's name), so the sucking up I'll have to do to deal with a move to Stratford would have to take on epic proportions for me to accept it. But accept I'll have to. Sir Bill would not have wanted the club to stand still. Aim high.
It's about revenue. But foremost, in its purist form, it's about football. It should be. And it should be about us. The fans. The 'club'. So what do you want?
If we're progressing as a football club will it matter where the new chapter is being written?
I guess the crux of it is, either way, whatever happens, no matter which side of the fence you sit - no matter the final decision - you will move on. No matter the loyalties sacrificed. We'll move on. Together. With the club. As one.
Reader Comments (175)
Ask any original Wimbledon fan their opinion of MK Dons?
If the club is not in Tottenham it ain't Tottenham Hotspurs... Simples
All that will have gone before will die guaranteed.
You may see in the future Sky Sports playing clips of our heroes lifting the cup but it will be a complete contradiction, it will not be Tottenham Hotspurs in the future, you will be brainwashed to think so (short term only though!).
Imagine MK Dons in the Premiership now and highlights of their upcoming fixture against Liverpool on Sky? Do you think they would show clips of Wimbledons FA Cup triumph and cheeky Dennis Wise celebrating? No of course not, most MK Dons fans are from MK and don’t give a .... about Wimbledon or their loyal past fans and players who now support AFC.
Memories are made from the present and the future. 99.9% of hard core traditionalist Spurs fans will not accept the move including myself after 36 years.
The future is Stratford Hotspurs and that just aint' Tottenham.
Be careful what you wish for Spurs fans it will be the end as you know it and life would never feel the same again.
Watch the season ticket waiting list collapse and in years to come Stratford Hotspurs will be in majority a whole new breed of premiership football whores with no passion of the history.
Myself my children and future generations will not grow up supporting such a franchise - period.
I here certain individuals (mainly youths with no history) stating that regardless of where Spurs are located we need the move to grow etc etc and become a force.
Well we are not doing bad at 36,000 at the moment and the NRP would be 56,000 imagine!!
Example Gary Mabbutt , Glen Hoddle, Danny Blanchflower, jimmy Greaves and all the other legends will they then become Straford Hotspur legends?
NO!!
Ask Vinny Jones if he is a MK Dons legend ?
Go on I dare you!!!
No to Tottinghamization please please.
I repeat - Be careful what you wish for Spurs fans it will be the END as you know it and life would never feel the same again.
A hardcore loving Tottenham Hotspur FC fan 100%.
Famous quote from Keith Burkinshaw’ There once was a Football Club there’ how unimaginably true this quote could be when WHL no longer exists.
COYS.
Tottenham Hotspurs
Tut tut
It was a compliment but then you knew that, right? ;)
You make valid points. Hence the confliction some of us are struggling with.
I still want us to stay, and believe we will.
For me it's all about Tottenham Hotspur.
When Woolwich Arsenal moved to Gilespie Road they didn't continue as Woolwich...they just kept Arsenal.
When Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes they didn't continue as Wimbledon, they became Milton Keynes Dons...a completely different club with (almost) completely different fans.
If Spurs move to Stratford, we'll not be Tottenham anymore...we'll be Stratford Hotspur, a completely different team who might, out of respect, play in white.
Of course if you're in favor of the move, please sing along...
"We are Stratford, we are Stratford, super Stratford, from the lane*,
we are Stratford, super Stratford, we are Stratford, from the lane*"
*Marshgate Lane
Are we legally obliged to change our name if we leave Tottenham? I doubt it. We are moving a few miles up the road not out of the city or county. And the clubs name is copyrighted so we could move to the moon and we'd still be called THFC.
Simon
You are on the wrong blog. Our team is Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspurs is off Bash Street.
Are you simples, or what?
Ready for Potty Training Class 38?
see...what Simon said, it just took me longer to type it 'cos I'm feeding the baby with my other hand (christ this is difficult!!)
And as for you czyrko... take the Tottenham out of Tottenham Hotspurs, which is what a move (any move out of the area) infers, and you might just as well have..... you know who !!
Enough... back to the present..... Lets concentrate on blowing the Library away tomorrow... I'll be doing my little, lonely bit in the local Irish pub. COYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Boris to say yes. Levy & ENIC to build. Fans to love the new grounds no matter what it's called. Tottenham to win the "Treble"!
Simon and Johnny B
What did you call your bay? Johns?
What the fuckin' fuck has Wimbledon or MK Dons gotta do with what we are discussing.
Please revert to baby feeding and potty training ASAP.
Have a cabbage patch day now, y'all!
Are Tottenham bricks and mortar or an ethos, a long standing tradition? Let's get philosophical.
I think if we moved we'd all end up dealing with it and probably loving it in the end especially if we end up winning cups and titles. Otherwise, it could be hallow and we'll be left surrounded by a place that doesn't have 100 years of history backing it up.
Cryzo & Jep your more worried about typos than you are Tottenham go read another blog.
Gereral Brickhouse... you really don't believe that, do you ??
there is a great divide of opinion......stratford has to be a nou camp type of atmosphere......how to let go of the past?....its an interesting turning point for the club in its history wich levy and co must get right .......without going into details as they are well documented regarding transport etc......there is time to reflect b4 a decision is made..local heritage versus the new spurs camp....not easy but the fans would not be happy with an emirates 2 in stratford which levy surely realises.....the best stadia in the EPL is its atmosphere in the ground ,if stratford proves to be a well redesigned same design brief as the northumberland design ie kop end etc then the nervousness of change may be ok..difficult to call.........whatever this great club decides
Come on chaps we're all yids together. Let's discuss this without the name calling. Some excellent points being made for both sides.
What ever happened to Picketts Lock?
Why? Are you saying we have to change our name? Really?
I doubt it. Very much.
Fuck it, I'm going to the pub before I get abusive
great blog spooky...ive just been having a gander at wikepedia and the list of the largest football stadiums in the england...wembley 1st(90,0000) manu 2nd(76,0000) gooners 3rd blah blah blah.....then u got clubs like newcastle(52,0000) sunderland(49,0000) n other clubs like leeds.. remember them?(49,0000)....so tottenham need at least a 60,0000 capacity stadium but a 70,0000 is much better....no good building a 60,0000 capacity stadium coz in 20 years it aint going to be big enough...if daniel levy was involved in man u then man u wouldnt be in so much debt like they are now and man u are and have been hampered in the transfer market because of their debt...im still laughing that man u picked up michael owen coz they aint got the money to spend.....another blog please spooks on stadiums and success....does the fate of tottenham hotspur lie in the balance of a new stadium at stratford?
Tony blue
.
I imply..............................You infer
English is a wonderful language when you understand it.
.
What you and your neanderthal neighbours Simon and Johnny Blue Bollox seem to confuse is sentiment, tradition and the telly tubbies. Shouldn't Arsenal be your boys of choice? Mmmm-whuh!
czyrko...Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes and became the MK Dons...Wimbledon FC doesn't exist anymore because they moved. It is the story of a club moving from it's home to somewhere else and then disappearing completely...do you not see the connection?
I'll meet you in the pub TonyB bring your telly tubby with you mate so cryzo can abuse it. I 'm off here.
I'm sorry czyrko, I was giving you the benefit of the doubt thinking you were a just a little naive but clearly you're just an idiot.
Tottenham for me isn't just a brand I picked, like deciding to smoke Marlboro lights over B&H...Spurs are my club, Tottenhams Club, (yes, even without the football team Tottenham is still a place in North London.) They were my local team for 30 years...they played football in my neighbourhood and I lived in theirs. Go to Stratford if you have to, but Stratford Hotspur isn't my team.
'a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet.'
If we move to Stratford, the stadium is 80,000. That means not only do more people have a chance of getting season tickets/ match tickets, but those tickets might be a little bit cheaper as a result.
If we stay in Tottenham, as the article states it's still a completely new stadium, and not White Hart Lane any more... so a lot of the traditions go out the window anyway.
I am a THFC fan, not a fan of the Tottenham area. I respect the traditions but not at the expense of future success. I want what's best for the club and if that means moving to a bigger, more profitable stadium which we don't have to pay to build, where more people can get in and the club's fanbase can grow... then I think Stratford is a good option.
Does anyone know the comparison in cost between developing Northumberland Park and taking on Stratford? Would be interested to know the numbers.
hehe Jimmy , by using a mere 10 words you made more sense than most of the paragraph long comments on here
apparrently the difference in choosing stratford is around 200 million in its favour ....the Northumberland project has gone up in cost recently plus other clause's of transport infrastructure costs........so one point is the recovery of moneys spent on a shorter term......the clubs finances would be better choosing the stratford move for purchase of other players ?
I think a big consideration has to be given to the clubs's position 15,20,30 years down the line. I see nothing wrong with ambition and trying to better ourselves. Club's successes, fortunes and popularity always change over time. A lot of the big clubs of 50 years ago are no longer the same today. Who's to say what will change in another 50 years.
I believe that London is easily capable of supporting a "super" club in the mould of Madrid, Barca and ManU - why not Spurs? There is little to seperate us, Arsenal and Chelsea in terms of potential growth. Arsenal may have a bigger stadium at the moment and Chelsea may have Roman's cash for the time being but our support is comparable to both and both those clubs have certainly seen support in there non-traditional areas increase greatly through media exposure and on field success.
Who is to say what our "position" is in terms of footballing hierarchy or whether we are aiming too high and attempting to punch above our weight? Surely we should be aiming for the top and attempting to be the best, most successful and entertaing club that we can? A state of the art 60,70 even 80,000 seat stadium with modern and efficient transport links would go a long way to acheiving that. Please forget this idea of moving to the "Olympic Stadium". That is never going to happen. It is totally unacceptable for a professional football club. The proposal is to move to the Olympic site and build a brand new football stadium. Any loss of match day atmosphere will apply equally to the NLP as it will to a stadium built in Stratford or anywhere else.
People probably thought that it was madness to build the Archibald Leitch designed East Stand (the largest and most expense of it's kind at time) in the 1920's and that we would never fill it. Follow the German model and makes the tickets dirt cheap (£15-20) and you'll always have a market. Sure your ticket sales may not be much more than WHL with twice the ticket prices but you'll more than make up for that in concession sales, programmes, merchandise etc. Plus you can sell a lot more season tickets which makes it easier for the club to budget for the forth coming year. See how Dortmund manage to get 75,000 to every home game.
The designs for the Northumberland Project look great but can we not be accused of following and trying to match others (Arsenal) rather than taking the lead and surpassing our rivals; of not aiming for the very top rather than just being content to be near the top? To dare is to fucking do....
The MK Dons comparison is completely different. They moved to another city entirely, changed their name, and lost 99% of their original fans. They sold the entire franchise like they do in the NFL... and sold all the Wimbledon fans down the river. We'd be moving 6 miles, not 50 miles, it's not the same at all.
A lot of fans would have an easier journey to the ground than before. And there is no way we'd ever change our name from Tottenham Hostpur. Plenty of teams have their ground in another area - Stamford Bridge is in Fulham not Chelsea, Upton Park is in East Ham not West Ham, The Den is in South Bermondsey not Millwall/ Isle of Dogs, Selhurst Park is in South Norwood not Crystal Palace.
The key question is whether we could get the same atmosphere as at the Lane... but I think we're a different breed to the Arse and whicever stadium we go for Levy will make re-seating people to keep the singing going a big priority. COYS
Stratford will happen. Back the bid.
For the record I am AGAINST moving East....... However;
Chelsea do not play in Chesea, they play in Fulham
Queen's Park Rangers do not play in Queen's Park (Thats in North West London for you countryside Spurs!), they play in Shepherd's Bush......
...... and we all know 'Ar5ena1' is in fact a street in Islington called Gillespie Road, not an actual name of an area.
Levy will do what's best for us. Either way over the next few years infrastrucure of the club is set to grow to match our fan base and true stature .
COYS!
I've had days of this elsewhere, as has Belgian Spur.
No 'Tottenham' anymore. We'll be Spurs or 'Mercedes Spurs' playing at the Mercedes Stadium. Tommorrow the goons had better all stand up and sing 'stand up if you hate Tottenham', they won't have many more chances to do that, it'll be like singing 'stand up if you hate Dalston'. We can't be Tottenham playing in Stratford - does not work.
If the running track has to be maintained (I know, I know, it doesn't, but if) then it will kill the proposed new ground.
The new ground will be the most easily accessible ground in London. A huge exercise to get worldwide football fans will happen to attract 5,000 of these people to each game ala Barca/Madrid. The PL is the most famous in the world now. Big areas of the ground with polite clapping.
Daniel Levy is a temporary custodian of this club. It had better be for the right reasons - and I don't believe they would do this without consulting the fans. Would they?
Whatever we do, no compromise though. If it's Stratford then so be it. On Spurs terms though, no fucking running track.
"I've had days of this elsewhere"
Huh?
Considering the Northumberland plans have the first row very close to the pitch, closer than Wembley and the Emirates I'm sure the running track is not part of the deal.
"We'll be Spurs or 'Mercedes Spurs' playing at the Mercedes Stadium. "
Yes, but we'll get paid lots of money and that's all that matters.
Scoff scoff.
nayim....you are right in the design of the new stadium possibly at stratford as a rebuild of the olympic site......meaning Tottenham hotspurs FC(no name change ).would be probably be one the best in europe with the benefit of current state of the art facilties.and sound considerations etc................ i too think it could put the club in the real madrid status..dont forget AEG are in this to be a first rate facility.too for other use..... concerts etc.......maybe spurs fans need more facts to compare so the PR job is needed to be more clear.......the idea of lammy MP tweetering following a meeting with levy is absurd and sounds childish on the issue
For all those advocating the ease of travel to the new staduim please bear in mind some Spurs fans actually live in Tottenham, so for every one person saying "it's easily accesable", there is another saying "I ain't walking 6 fucking miles to Stratford". Locals will have to travel further...think of the carbon footprint people!!
Levy would have to engage the fans in the same way we were engaged first time round if Statford is the wayforward. Doesn't sit right for me moving. Doubt we will.
If West Ham get the olympic stadium will they be knocking it down? I'm guessing not.
JohnnyB: i think cryzo & jep the idiots have gone!
If they come back tell them.
The history of Tottenham Hotspur as you know began under a street lamp just across the road from what is now the Spurs Store on High Street Tottenham, London N17. Some players from the local cricket club and the local grammar school - St. John's Presbyterian - were at a loss as to what to get up to during the summer and so they decided to start playing football. This was back in 1882. Unsure about what to call themselves, they named themselves after the youngest son of the Duke of Northumberland, Percy, who went by the nickname of "Harry Hotspur". The Tottenham'S ball and cockerel crest is related to Harry Hotspur'S riding spurs.
English is a wonderful language when you understand it!
6 miles or 50 miles a move is a move and the end of life as we know it and any passionate fan will find out!
How Spurs fans cannot see the comparison between MK Dons is quite baffling really.
The story continues....
In 2013-2014 Tottenham Hotspurs relocated (HOTSURS with an S as everything moved and changed for the benefit of typo abusers) that was the end of THFC and the beginning of Stratford Hotspur and a whole new breed and generation of fans from East London were born. Those original fans that remained from WHL only did so as the train journey was easier than they remembered.
Billio - Real Madrid status? How so? Arsenal have a fairly new stadium and they are hardly got a RM status.
Quote: "Tottenham for me isn't just a brand I picked, like deciding to smoke Marlboro lights over B&H...Spurs are my club, Tottenhams Club, (yes, even without the football team Tottenham is still a place in North London.) They were my local team for 30 years...they played football in my neighbourhood and I lived in theirs. Go to Stratford if you have to, but Stratford Hotspur isn't my team."
Thank you, JohnnyB. And your point?
hoopspur , as much as i like to be referenced in your comment , would you care to enlighten your first sentence?
I think plan is to knock down the Olympic stadium entirely and build a whole new complex from scratch, plus a new athletics stadium elsewhere (or refurb Crystal Palace).
The interesting point for me is AEG's involvement. They clearly know what they are doing when it comes to managing arenas and stadium as they are responsible for the following:
Acer Arena
American Airlines Arena
American Royal
Complex
Annexet
AT&T Center
BJCC Arena
Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Cairns Convention
Centre & Arena
Citizen's Business Bank Arena
O2 World Hamburg
Conseco Fieldhouse
E-Center
Ericsson Globe
FedExForum
Freedom Hall
Hovet
Jobing.com Arena
Kemper Arena
Las Vegas Arena
Memorial Coliseum
Newcastle Entertainment Centre
The O2
O2 World Berlin
Prudential Center
Rose Garden
Valley View Casino Center
Shanghai Arena
Sprint Center
STAPLES Center
Target Center
The Arena at the Anaheim
Convention Center
Time Warner Cable Arena
Toyota Sports Center
Wukesong Arena
XL Center
Which would suggest that they seem to think that there is a very viable business model to be had. Certainly there is room for another stadium to compete with Wembley and Twickenham for concerts and such like, as transport links for either are pretty dire. Whether the stadium would be regularly full is a moot point and depends on what pricing structure they introduce. Follow the German model and make seats very cheap (and with such a large capacity, why not) say, £15-£20 then you stand a good chance of picking up a lot of fans who can neither afford the £40+ WHL experience of relish the travel issues of getting there. Depends how well the team are doing on the pitch also. Certainly Arse, Chelsea, West Ham, ManU would sell, plus possibly Newcastle/Man City? FA Cup games against any of them and also CL games would provide big crowds. If the team are not playing well though......
Who can see into the future, 5 or 10 years now there could be a fully fledged European league and Spurs may be London's representative....
Just to make clear.
I would prefer to stay at WHL and to incorporate that into the naming rights
eg Macdonalds at White Hart Lane or whatever.
If we move to Stratford for whatever reason, well financial obviouslyl, it will still be Spurs and I will support them almost as fervently as before but with a slight shake of the head at the impact of money once again on the beautiful game.
Another nail in the coffin of history and tradition but in the end it just becomes part of our history and tradition.
Recycled coffins if you like.
The Macdonalds Stratford Olympic Stadium (Previously at White Hart Lane)
Doesn't really trip off the tongue does it?
Are Macdonalds kosher?
Is this serious? If we moved to Stratford we would knock down the stadium and build a new one from scratch? Why would we do that? Surely that makes it a similar cost to the Northumberland Park development?
Not gone
Ben....It's not about cost of development mate....it's about infer-structure...... Can you imagine fifty thousand supporters shuffling down Tottenham High Road to Seven Sisters - One word - Carnage!
Would we out rightly own the Olympic site or not?
Everybody is wearing rose tinted glasses when it comes to making glorious assumptions about how good a move shifting out of Tottenham into Stratford would be. What if we don't do well on the pitch? Where it matters. At least if we remain at Spurs we have something to fall back onto. If we took a fall in Stratford it would be disenchanting to say the least.
Yes Ben, that's right. The Olympic stadium is completely unsuitable for a professional business enterprise. It has been built on the cheap and designed to be knocked down afterwards. The facilities are extrenely poor. Put it this way; it's got an 80,000 capacity yet all the consessions (food, drink etc) are located OUTSIDE on the ground floor. There is no way that anyone would seriously consider using the stadium on a regular basis (well, unless you a desperate like Davids, but even they will have to concede that it requires a lot of work).
The reason that it will be so much cheaper than the NLP is that firstly, all the foundations for a stadium will have already been constructed. Imagine the time and cost involved in digging up the ground next to WHL and laying all the steel and concrete and other resources required before you can even begin to build. Look at any of the construction sites in the City and see how quickly the buildings go up compared to how long it takes to prepapre the ground.
Secondly, there won't be any cost involved with getting 60-80,000 people to and from the ground. That will already be in place from the Olympics. Roads, rail, stations, bus routes, pavements, bridges etc etc etc. Unlike NLP where TFL are asking for 10's of millions to upgrade teh Victoria line and Tottenham Hale and even then it the work is unlikely to be completed until well after the new stadium has been opened.
Also, there won't be requirements to buy any additional land, compuslory purchases, satisfying council demands regarding "historical" buildings etc. All that has already be taken care of during the construction of the Olympic site. Plus, factor in that a stadium could be completed quicker and opened earlier than NLP and you then have access to increased revenue streams earlier. Time is money after all.