The Stadium! | Vital Football

The Stadium!

oxfordspur

Vital Football Legend
As there is a real danger of Stadium overload in the next few weeks, could you put everything regarding it on this thread to save having about 50 all running at the same time.
 
To say that today is one of the biggest days in our great clubs history, might be going a little far, but not by much...


<br><br><a href ="http://www.vitalfootball.co.uk/router.asp?7507249">Click here to read the article</a><br><br>
 
From everything have read in the media so far, there isnt a hope in hell that we will get the nod for the move. When it all flops I wonder if we will continue our plan to build new stadium in Tottenham or give up the ghost, and if the council will make our lives hell for daring to think about moving.
 
although I do wonder if there will be a case of the comittee bottling it and using it only as an athletics stadium, I honestly done see there being a better legacy that giving it to spurs to full every week or so and also regenerating a delapidated Crystal Palace to use exclusively for athletics.
 
I just cant see how the Spammers plan will work. Every home game they will have to allocate a good 30-40% of the seats to the away team just to get the stadium full. After a visit or two everyone will realise that there is absolutely no atmosphere & its probably better to watch it on line so they wll end up with an empty stadium. There only hope is that somebody like o2 or something joins them. Really cant see it working if so. Mind you it would be their final nail in the coffin so heres hoping. Should we get it im hoping Haringey council will bend over backwards to drop out. Either way we will see a new stadium in the next few years. We cant not grow as that is not financially viable for anyone.
 
Why did them wankers at the BBC and ask the head of the IOC "Will it be a betrayal if Spurs get the stadium" how the hell are these muppets impartial.
 
Brazilian superstar against retaining running track after 2012

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6684585,00.html

Pele has joined the call for Tottenham Hotspur to move to the 2012 Olympics Stadium.

In a letter obtained by Sky Sports News, the Brazilian great has written to the Olympic Park Legacy Company pledging support for Spurs' bid to take control of the Stratford site once it has hosted the Games.

Tottenham and West Ham United are both fighting to take control of the site with the Olympic Park Legacy Company receiving final submissions from both bidding parties on Friday ahead of a decision next week.

But Pele has given Spurs' bid a shot in the arm, telling Olympics organisers he supports the club's aim to create a dedicated football ground which would provide "a great stadium".

He adds: "I really don't understand wanting to play with a track around the pitch. The players won't like it and it probably won't last.

"As a player you need to feel the passion and the intensity of the fans. The best stadiums connect the fans to the pitch and if you lose that, you lose something that really matters - and eventually you lose the fans.

"The Olympics is special too and it would be good to see a decision taken which means that we see excitement and great sport experiences follow it too."

The Hammers have said they plan to retain the running track but Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has insisted that his former club would be wrong to move to the Olympic Stadium.

The bids from the two Premier League clubs differ greatly, coming at the stadium from completely different angles.

West Ham have confirmed they intend to keep the track, which was a pledge made as part of London's legacy for the Olympics, while Tottenham have proposed a complete rebuild of the site, with a new 60,000 stadium not including an athletics option.

To offset their lack of a running track, Spurs have pledged to help finance the refurbishment of the National Sports Centre, but to complicate matters Crystal Palace announced their intention to move there only this week.

Adamant
But Redknapp is adamant that West Ham should not move into the stadium with a running track.

"We keep hearing about the Olympic legacy and the need to have a world-class athletics stadium after the 2012 Games in London," he said in his Sun column.

"But my big fear is that if West Ham move into the stadium in Stratford with a whacking great running track around the pitch, the only legacy for them will be a nightmare.

"It's incredible that the club is even considering taking over the Olympic Stadium and keeping the 400m track intact, putting up an invisible yet insurmountable barrier between the fans and the football.

"Tottenham, my club, also have ambitions to move there because if Spurs want to progress they need a bigger ground - but they have a vastly different outlook on the project.

"I'm not just banging the company drum for Tottenham here. Even if Spurs do win the race against West Ham to make it their new home, by the time all the development is finished I might not be at the club anyway.

"It's just that in my heart I dread to think what could eventually happen to West Ham if they moved to the main Olympic Stadium and do not heed the warnings."

There are those who disagree with Redknapp, including the head of world athletics, Lamine Diack - who insists London must keep the Olympic running track.

"To now demolish the Olympic stadium, throwing away the original £500million investment of public money, seems to me an outrageous proposition, especially in the present world economic climate," said Diack.

But Tottenham director Sir Keith Mills, who is also deputy chairman of LOCOG - London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games - insists Tottenham's plans could work.

"Lamine Diack quite rightly wants to see the Olympic legacy left in London and both of the bids on the table provide an athletics legacy," he said.

"The issue here, and the one the OPLC will be looking at in the next 10 days, is what's going to provide the best long-term legacy for London and for the country.

"And that's all about which of the two bids is going to be economically viable in the long term."
 
Dear Supporter

I write to update you on the Club’s stadium plans. I am conscious that there has been an exceptional amount of coverage on this subject over the past couple of weeks. We submitted our final bid for the Olympic Stadium site at noon today and I should, therefore, like to outline our proposals and to update you on the position of the Northumberland Development Scheme (NDP).

Our proposals for the Olympic Stadium site include an iconic 60,000 seater stadium, the construction of which is fully financially guaranteed. It is designed along the lines of that which we incorporated in our planning application for the NDP, with a single tier end and seats close to the action on the pitch. It would rank amongst the finest in the world and deliver one of the best fan experiences anywhere in Europe. It would also host major concerts and other sporting and cultural events to be delivered as part of a year-round programme by our partner in the bid, AEG, the operators of The O2.

The proposals include the re-use of the existing infrastructure in order to maximize the benefit of the public investment to date. Surrounded by an exceptional public realm which would host community-focussed events and activities, the stadium would benefit from the best public transport and access for any stadium in Britain and our plans also include a major tourist attraction based around extreme sports and incorporating specialist sports retailing, restaurants, cafes and bars.

We proposed a comprehensive athletics legacy which included facilitating a permanent 25,000-seat athletics venue at Crystal Palace, with the ability to convert to 40,000 for a World Championship, along with support for grassroots athletics.

The easiest option for us would undoubtedly have been to bid for the Olympic Stadium site with a retained athletics track. But it would have been the wrong option. The front row seats in the Olympic Stadium with a retained athletics track will be up to 45m from the pitch; in our stadium design they would be 8m from the action.

Football and athletics cannot co-exist successfully in the same stadium. There are examples all over the world of where clubs have removed tracks or moved stadiums simply because of the poor spectator experience and the lack of sustainability in the long-term due to decreasing attendances. We never considered for one moment placing our fans in such a stadium environment.

The decision now rests with the Olympic Park Legacy Company as to who they will select as their preferred bidder, with whom they would then enter into detailed negotiations in order to reach a final agreement. This is scheduled to be announced following an OPLC Board meeting on 28 January 2011. As I have stated previously, should we be selected as the preferred bidder, we shall engage with and fully consult our supporters.

In respect of the NDP, the S106, the planning agreement required before full planning consent can be issued, has been signed by ourselves, Haringey Council and Transport for London and is in the process of being signed by the relevant financial institutions.

That said, I must once again repeat the concerns we have about the viability and deliverability of the NDP. The cost of consent has been high. This is not attributable to any one stakeholder, but is rather the result of the cumulative nature of the various obligations. We have worked well in partnership with Haringey Council and I should like to thank them for their support in reaching this stage in the process.

No progress has been made with the remaining land owners and this is a potentially costly issue. As such, we have yet to conclude the site assembly. Compulsory Purchase Orders are of course one route to resolving this, but that process is uncertain and can take years to conclude.

So, in some ways much has happened and in others, we are still determining new stadium plans.

Our guiding principles remain the same – we are committed to taking this Club to the next level and an increased capacity stadium is central to that intention; and we have to seek a stadium solution which does not undermine the financial stability of the Club or its ability to continue to invest in the First Team.

If you look at the stadium capacities of the top 20 clubs in Europe, they all exceed ours. The new Financial Fair Play rules will mean that we shall only be able to outlay income generated through the activities of the Club – increased match day revenues play a major role in a club’s finances and we need to ensure that we are in a position to thrive and to continue to compete at the highest level.

Perhaps more importantly, we now have over 35,000 fans on the paid for waiting list for season tickets. It is an astonishing figure and a real reminder of the strength of support for this Club and the hunger there is to come and see the team playing some of the most attractive and exciting football in the Premier League and in European competition.

I am ever conscious of the feelings of our fans - on all fronts. I have never made any secret of the fact that I am ambitious on behalf of this Club and our fans. You could say that the one choice we do have , is the choice between standing still or moving forward. I know what my choice is and, judging from the emails we receive at the Club, you join me in wanting to see our Club progress. A new stadium is critical to our continued success. I shall keep you updated and thank you for all your support.

In the meantime we have a season to be getting on with and some fantastic football to enjoy.

Yours, Daniel
 
This is all starting to look a little bleak for us and the words rock and hard place spring to mind. Still in Levey we trust.
 
Hmmmm, the problem I see is that if they do go for the Spanners then what restrictions in the future for our transfer fund would the need to build the ground at WHL have. Its twice as much & would surely have a knock on effect. Mind you we could fund the project with our midfield...... Only kidding.
 
although it is a massive advantage, the only thing West ham have over us is their locality, Spurs are better in every other area, including finance, fan base and current status and ability. we might well lose out, but Im not so sure I share your pessimism that we will lose out for sure.
 
I've been thinking about this a lot today and Levy has summed up the entire situation incredibly well when he says;

You could say that the one choice we do have , is the choice between standing still or moving forward.

I've said before that my own selfishness would always favour Spurs moving to an easier to get to part of London. Our current location is claustrophobic and in an area that desperately needs decades-worth of TLC. My heart on the other hand feels a move away from WHL to a different part of London entirely is a massive shame and we won't only be leaving our home, we will be leaving our history and a big chunk of our tradition.

That being said we HAVE to move on and if Spurs don't move location now, it'll only happen in the future because the NDP is using every available inch of space that can be used and still won't give us a stadium capacity that will compete with those around us in ten years time. Old Trafford already has 75k seats and we need to be at the same level as the Goons and they have 60k! Getting to WHL has always been a tough experience with such poor transport links too and NDP doesnt seem to be offering much improvements due to London Transport being so hard to deal with.

This club needs to keep up. I'm fed up of us lagging behind when we should be at the top. If Levy thinks moving to Stratford is the best for the club then I damn well believe him. We will all be astonishingly gutted to leave WHL and North London but Levy wont sell us out. Our traditions should always be about what happens on the pitch, not holding on to our history like it's all we've got left. Maybe it is just time to move on lads and make more history.
 
well that missive proves that we are heading over there for sure.

the sentence 'along the lines of the original plan' is worrying cos that does not mean the same in terms of acoustics and 'bearpit' particlularly if they are gonna put on gigs.

we are gonna end up with a half decent football stadium that puts on concerts

how shit is that?
 
We won't get it anyway, so those of you moaning about not getting home in time to watch strictly will have to lump it.
 
So it seems we've been entirely premature in believeing that all the pieces were in place for NPD....and it does look like costs look set to leap again, or we have further delays of potentially years...

No wonder they see the OS as a viable solution, especially as knowing the full costs they've already got financing commitments agreed.

Still think we are second favourites by a long way, that is unless the Spammers financial backing doesn't match what's required, but with £80 mill of Newhams money and £35 mill from the OLC that 'only' leaves them with around £80-90 Mill to find and fund by other means....Gold and Sullivan should easily be able to provide that.