New Stadium 'Eclipses' North London Rivals.. | Vital Football

New Stadium 'Eclipses' North London Rivals..

Spursex

Alert Team
This was such a good report, I thought it was a worth it's own space, even if it was to do with the Stadium...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/footbal..._source=LI&li_medium=li-recommendation-widget


Tottenham Hotspur's new ground eclipses north London rivals' Emirates Stadium– it was worth the long wait



Eleven minutes into the first proper game at Tottenham Hotspur’s new palace, a 17-year-old from Camden cut inside and curled a low shot round Southampton’s goalkeeper. Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen will soon be doing this, but the opening goal, and the first knee-slide, belonged to J’Neil Bennett.

Around the “cashless” but costly Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 28,987 Spurs fans who came up lucky in a ballot swooned over the luxury feel of a spaceship moored where the old White Hart Lane used to be. At half-time, Mauricio Pochettino called their new house “one of the best of the best in the world” and predicted a boost for his team’s Champions League hopes when “62,000” home fans confront Manchester City in the quarter-final first-leg on April 9.

In the 17,500-seat South Stand, the largest single-tier vantage point in the UK, steeply banked Tottenham supporters sang “J’Neil Bennett, he’s one of our own” and faced up to a hefty responsibility. When Premier League games start here against Crystal Palace on April 3, those South Standers are charged with providing the wall of noise.

Premier League stadium building is now an arms race and Tottenham’s 62,062-seat mansion is an escalation. So rapid are the consumer-experience upgrades and technological leaps that good new stadiums can quickly be made to seem, well, not dated exactly but certainly overtaken. Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium remains magnificent, but Tottenham’s new ground is a further architectural jump, with a microbrewery, separate NFL entrance and retractable grass playing surface so that gridiron and football can co-exist without turf wars. In London, Chelsea, who appear hemmed in by Stamford Bridge, will be the most envious of the capital’s clubs.




This under-18 game between Spurs and Southampton (which finished 3-1) will be followed by a Legends match on Saturday in front of a larger, 45,000 audience and then the full enchilada of Crystal Palace’s visit. A sense of wonder vied with anxiety around access, stewarding and public transport. The long completion delay has piled pressure on Spurs to make the unveiling a success but emotion will ease the way.

192317882_Tottenham-Hotspur-FC_Tottenham-Hotspur-v-Southampton-U18-Premier-League_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqCNd_ykc0PLqKdCDG2QDBi2LsQIPxjdXBxzSr0KK0CHs.jpg

Mauricio Pochettino gave an emotional half-time interview at Spurs's new home Credit: GETTY IMAGES

On the pitch the stadium announcer began with a hearty “welcome home” and reported: “There are tears in people’s eyes.” Then it was Pochettino’s turn to play the prodigal. He said: “I think I got the same feeling when we left on the last day at White Hart Lane. We were crying. Now the first day for the new stadium here again, we feel the same emotion. We are nearly crying because our dream came true.

“We need to say thank you first of all to Daniel Levy [the chairman], because in 2001 when he started to believe in that dream, he made it possible for everyone today to be here. Then all the board, and all the people that made it possible because there a lot of people in the club who worked hard to make it reality.”



Pochettino, whose son Maurizio came on in the second-half, thanked the supporters for their “patience” at Wembley and said: “It’s going to be amazing and have a massive impact for the team, for the players, for the club. We are in a very good place in the Premier League and we have a massive challenge in the Champions League, but with 62,000 here behind us, it will be fantastic to play. It’s our dream to be in the semi-final. Why not? When we start to feel this is our new home it’s going to be massive.”



Tottenham’s under-18s will not forget in a hurry the day they christened the grass. Their captain, Armando Shashoua, said before kick-off: "The stadium is there for us and for future generations. Every player in the academy has to believe they have a chance to progress and to be part of the first team one day, so to have this taste of what it means to play at the stadium is so important for us all.”

ss-composite-image-2019-3-24-23-4_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqqVzuuqpFlyLIwiB6NTmJwfSVWeZ_vEN7c6bHu2jJnT8.png

Future generations of Tottenham supporters will be able to enjoy the new stadium

The new ground raises the stakes too by being a multi-purpose venue with a high-end, consumerist feel. At a reported £1 billion, with over-runs, it was bound to be fancy. Levy said in his programme notes: “The multi-purpose design of our stadium will see it host a variety of sports, concerts and events. Further developments will include a hotel, extreme sports facility, commercial and residential properties to complement the stadium and the Tottenham Experience, which houses the club shop and, in future, museum and archive.”

Already the players’ facilities include “a restaurant with separate kitchen to prepare team food, pre-match players' lounge, creche, family lounge, hydrotherapy pool and warm-up area.” At 65 metres, the Goal Line Bar in the South Stand is said to be “the longest bar in Europe,” though nobody ever says who measures these things. The ethos is craft in your beer and craft on the pitch.



With 8,000 Premium seats, but no naming rights yet sold, high-rollers can consume the work of “world-renowned chefs,” though one of the selling points for this test event was a “pie and a pint for £5.” In one of London’s less privileged boroughs, Spurs will tread a fine line between the upscale entertainment experience and staying connected to the community. From the sky, the ground looks like a spacecraft that has deposited a business for billionaires in an area of economic struggle.



But the best news is that this feels like a real football ground, a cauldron: imposing and extravagant, yes, but still true to Tottenham Hotspur’s spirit and raison d'être.
 
Let’s just hope it’s the catalyst for all that RD
It does look immense. But I didn't support spurs for it's shiny new stadium or training facilities.

Will only be worth it if we win trophies and sign top players and stay at the top end for decades to come.
lets just hope it’s the catalyst for all that RD
 
And someone will come along and build one bigger and better than ours.

CL Qualification is all I give a naff about atm.
You know that feeling you get when something is just going right , at the right time and place . I’ve got it now , with the buzz of the new stadium feeding down and through to the players . Semi’s in C L and qualification by third spot , for next season
I’ve had to re evaluate our second spot prediction due to our recent blip . In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter, 2nd or 3 rd
COYS
 
Tottenham's awe-inspiring new home is a £1bn game-changer that could steal Wembley's thunder



192317690_Tottenham-Hotspur-FC_Tottenham-Hotspur-v-Southampton-U18-Premier-League_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqX9BUfzDCvOjQOugpI-mZsGvfZS3DL3k6YEd84OmSfgo.jpg
Tottenham's £1bn new home is finally open for business

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – or whatever it will be called once the naming rights are sold – is more than a new stadium. And judging by the reaction to its first event, a test event involving the club’s Under-18s, that name should be the Wow Stadium.

It is a £1billion game-changer; a stadium that alters the landscape of sport in London; a stadium which has repercussions for English football and Tottenham’s standing in it but also for other sports and other arenas and what they might do - because it is now the best on the market.

Suddenly, or, rather, less suddenly given the frustrating over-run on its construction, it has arrived. The Emirates Stadium is still impressive, still a good football ground even if it lacks individuality, but Tottenham’s is a world-class, significant upgrade on what its rivals can offer and feels more bespoke and while West Ham United are making the best of the London Stadium it is simply not in the same bracket.

Above all, though, what does it mean for Wembley Stadium?

The Football Association are acutely aware that despite the fact it opened just 12 years ago at a cost of £800million Wembley is in need of improvements – with £12million committed this year and a further £60million expected to be spent. The hope was that Fulham’s American billionaire owner Shahid Khan would take Wembley off the FA’s hands for £600million but that deal was kiboshed.

So the fear has to be that Wembley will be usurped especially with Spurs’ ambition to host concerts (the acoustics are first-rate and have been a big part of the planning) events and other sports – chiefly American football – to build a hotel and attract two million visitors a year. “We shall be a home for the NFL in London,” Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said and, in one stroke, that will take Wembley’s place and kudos in the United States.


The expectation is, with Spurs on the scene, other events will gravitate towards them and Wembley will be left to partly trade on its name (the one caveat, possibly a significant one, is that transport links to Wembley remain superior). Part of the attraction of Khan’s bid was what he could bring to Wembley beyond football.

“Their dedicated entrance, as well as dressing rooms and medical facilities in our East Stand, mean our stadium is the only one outside the United States specifically designed for the sport,” Levy added with Spurs having researched throughout the US, specifically the Dallas Cowboys vast, imposing stadium in Arlington and the futuristic, angular Minnesota Vikings stadium. Wembley cannot compete with that.

“One of the best of the best in the world,” Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino said of his club’s new home during Sunday’s first test event and it is no idle boast. It should be that – given it is the newest – but that is easier said than done and Spurs have achieved it. The extraordinary thing is that the £1billion cost, and it could be above that, the over-run, already feels like money very well spent. It looks value for money. It looks worth it. It is clear to see where the cash has gone.

Everyone who knows Levy not only talks about how demanding he is but how meticulous, also, and the stadium has the feel of his exacting standards – as well as an old-fashioned sense of one-upmanship. In the NBC documentary “To Dare Is To Do”, which aired in America in 2017, Levy admitted building a bigger stadium than Arsenal’s 60,260-capacity home “wasn’t the sole driver” for him (therefore it was a “driver”) and also spoke of the design meaning the fans are “five metres closer to the pitch than a comparable stadium in north London” (obvious who he was referring to there, then).

TELEMMGLPICT000192314367_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqDKGDQpemwFDOZcDYGh2bvgabHNDKKjNFhT9njmcUO7U.jpeg


A spin through the dynamics and number show just how awesome – and is the right word – Spurs’ 62,062-seater stadium is. For example the 17,500-seat steeply-banked South Stand is the largest single-tier stand in the UK; the grass pitch can be removed in 25 minutes and can stay in a garage, in storage space under the South Stand, for up to 10 days where it is sustained by LED lighting, cooling and irrigation systems.

There are 1,800 HD TVs throughout the stadium and four bespoke main LED video displays totalling more than 1,000 square metres (enough to fill both penalty areas). The two screens on the South Stand are 325 square metres making them the largest in Europe while the floodlights use 50 per cent less energy than traditional, metal halide ones.

There are 471 WCs (84 per cent for women) and 773 urinals, 115 turnstiles, 265 wheelchair bays and even drinking water fountains. There are 65 food and drink outlets with 878 cashless payment points. It is the first football stadium to have its own microbrewery and the Goal Line Bar, at 65 metres, is claimed to be the longest in Europe.

The attraction is obvious and, for its rivals, over-powering.


Spurs are on a rapid upward trajectory.




They expect at least a £100million a year increase in revenue from the new stadium – in line with the impact on Arsenal when they moved to the Emirates – which is £60million up on White Hart Lane. Then there are the stadium naming rights which could yield £30-40million and Levy has been canny enough to wait for the reaction to the opening and the positive publicity it has garnered to hold out for top dollar.

They need the money, of course. The wage bill is rising and they will have to spend in the transfer market this summer after a year of holding of while their qualification for next season’s Champions League is now in the balance. And they will not want to start a season in their new home without that and without the revenue it generates.

The bigger picture is that, of course, the new stadium will have a huge impact on Spurs but what has not been factored in, yet, is the impact it will have on other stadiums.
 
Making CL is crucial to us this season, make the top 4 and I can only see us going from strength to strength. We won't be ready to challenge Citeh and Pool next season IMO, but we will put a gap between ourselves and the Chavs and gooners.
 
Making CL is crucial to us this season, make the top 4 and I can only see us going from strength to strength. We won't be ready to challenge Citeh and Pool next season IMO, but we will put a gap between ourselves and the Chavs and gooners.

I so hope you're right, but do feel that there is too much to do in the transfer market to maintain or grow the gap between us and the other London clubs. I think we're about to see the latency between our impotence in the prior windows and what happens next on the pitch. It's now down to Levy, Poch and co to rebuild their reputation in the transfer market as it's rock bottom right now.

Nice idea by the club to showcase the talented U18's in the first ever game at the new stadium though. Bypassing the U23's and moving straight to that younger age group sent a powerful message.
 
I so hope you're right, but do feel that there is too much to do in the transfer market to maintain or grow the gap between us and the other London clubs. I think we're about to see the latency between our impotence in the prior windows and what happens next on the pitch. It's now down to Levy, Poch and co to rebuild their reputation in the transfer market as it's rock bottom right now.

Nice idea by the club to showcase the talented U18's in the first ever game at the new stadium though. Bypassing the U23's and moving straight to that younger age group sent a powerful message.
I understand your concern muttley, and it is one that I guess it is shared by many fans. With the loss of Dembele and Eriksen/Toby looking like they will be leaving in the summer, we have to replace 3 quality players just to stand still. But I believe that it can be done, players like Sanchez and Winks will also be better next season. We also need two new fullbacks IMO, that is five players we need to bring in.
I am always nervous when we bring in any more than 3 players in any one window, that is why I would rather put trust in one or two of our young players and bring in 3 players of real quality. If Eriksen and Toby go they will bring in around £100m, surely we will have at least £200m in the kitty. That surely enough to bring in 3 quality players.
Next season it is looking like Skipp will be the Winks of last season as far as squad players are concerned, don't forget we have Amos that should be fit and raring to go.
 
I understand your concern muttley, and it is one that I guess it is shared by many fans. With the loss of Dembele and Eriksen/Toby looking like they will be leaving in the summer, we have to replace 3 quality players just to stand still. But I believe that it can be done, players like Sanchez and Winks will also be better next season. We also need two new fullbacks IMO, that is five players we need to bring in.
I am always nervous when we bring in any more than 3 players in any one window, that is why I would rather put trust in one or two of our young players and bring in 3 players of real quality. If Eriksen and Toby go they will bring in around £100m, surely we will have at least £200m in the kitty. That surely enough to bring in 3 quality players.
Next season it is looking like Skipp will be the Winks of last season as far as squad players are concerned, don't forget we have Amos that should be fit and raring to go.

I don't get why anyone thinks we'll be looking for Toby's replacement; Sanchez was bought for that express purpose and Foyth has been carefully handled to step up next season. I think Toby's in decline, but I guess we'll see.

I'd like Poch to stamp his authority on Dier and get him back to playing where I think he plays the best; in defence, so a combo of Dier, Vert, Sanchez and Foyth (if he keeps improving) would be a very solid top class line up of CB's. Of course there is also the slim chance that CCV will be held back as he may have done enough to convince that he could make the grade....

That said, the talk of us signing Cahill on a one/two year deal for cover on a free is continuing to persist - and if we did, I wouldn't be adverse to it.

Rose isn't now going anywhere, unless it's a massive offer and by all accounts interest from the Manure has turned distinctly chilly since the special one's departure.

Can't see us selling Davies unless we have a top draw replacement we can buy at a sensible number (Sessegnon continues to be quoted as a £50 mill buy despite having a very medicore year in the Prem and a player that's looked like he's struggled with the pace and physicality fo the Prem at times), but as always, it maybe a change that Poch thinks we have to make.

I can't see Tripps being sold, and who knows he might find a way back to his best form if he has a summer away from Football. I wouldn't Sell Aurier as I still believe with a run of game she can make the position his own.

Selling Lamela, who is now officially a crock would be smart, but suspect it will be a very low number we get for him now.

It's how we replace Eriksen I think is the big question; I do like Grealish but like others have pointed out, he's yet to prove he can play like he has been in the big leagues - Sessegnon should be a timely reminder that the step up into the Prem is a BIG step.

I think we've already replaced Dembele with a more consistent player in Winks; and much may depend on the long term prognosis for Victor that will dictate our spend on another defensive/holding player who can also hopefully be able to pick a pass and play forward...and of course where Poch sees Dier future; as I've said above, I can't understand why if he believes what he stated in his book that Dier is a better CB than holding midfielder why he lets him dictate it.

Whilst there is now a better confidence that Edwards will return and be given his chance next year, we'd need better attacking/creative cover that could change the way we play, the question is of course, who is that player and can we get him?

It goes without saying, I still believe Zaha would be a revelation with us, but that is now looking a very unlikely deal.
 
Last edited:
I understand your concern muttley, and it is one that I guess it is shared by many fans. With the loss of Dembele and Eriksen/Toby looking like they will be leaving in the summer, we have to replace 3 quality players just to stand still. But I believe that it can be done, players like Sanchez and Winks will also be better next season. We also need two new fullbacks IMO, that is five players we need to bring in.
I am always nervous when we bring in any more than 3 players in any one window, that is why I would rather put trust in one or two of our young players and bring in 3 players of real quality. If Eriksen and Toby go they will bring in around £100m, surely we will have at least £200m in the kitty. That surely enough to bring in 3 quality players.
Next season it is looking like Skipp will be the Winks of last season as far as squad players are concerned, don't forget we have Amos that should be fit and raring to go.

Gonna be interesting watching the evolution of Skipp, Amos and even Onomah. You have a real youngster in Skipp who has talent but looks short of athleticism and pace. You have the 22 year old Amos who looked good in pre-season, but we never got to really assess him in the 1st team. Then you have the 21 year old Onomah with all that talent but can't get his career going.

As you say, it is the 5th choice squad slot we're talking about so even using a couple of them to make up the numbers seems sensible. I don't yet see a new Winks out of any of them though.
 
And I clicked on this to hear about the stadium. What was I thinking? :off:
 
Very! I tried so many times to get to WHL but always failed or fell through. Hopefully this marks a change in luck!
 
Stadium may well be stellar. But if we let those ***** finish above us all those players should be made to clear the terraces of rubbish after the last game.
Might be a rant but I’m fucked off now