Gary Taylor sent us the following.
At the beginning of this season I was given a story that seemed so implausible, at the time that had it not been from such an impeccable source I would have dismissed it as nonsense.
I was told, that by the beginning of the season, the project was already three months ahead of schedule and that the builders were on massive bonuses to finish the project so that the club could play there the following season.
At the time I kept thinking that it would be impossible to demolish the old stadium and build the remaining third in three months, but every time I have returned to the stadium and seen how advanced the work is, it has played on my mind. Why was it so important that the builders cut the corner out of the North Stand when they would still have 14 months to build the final third of the stadium? Why have the club not signed the contract for next season with Wembley? And why, have the marketing team not begun selling Wembley hospitality packages for next season “to existing executive members, when they have already sold them their seats in the new stadium?” Last season contracts went out in November.
Over the Christmas period, I read up on the construction plans and was intrigued to read that the single tier 17,000 all-seated South Stand will not be a concrete construction as is the rest of the stadium, but a steel construction with a concrete finish. This suggests that it would not only be erected quicker than the rest of the stadium, but could be built independently after the rest of the stadium was built.
Just last week I was talking to a member of Spurs staff and was surprised to hear that they had not been given any information on their roles for next season at Wembley, however, the insider told me that whenever the 2017/18 season is mentioned, the hierarchy always use the term, “If we go to Wembley”, not “When we go”.
As I understand it, should this mild winter continue and the building work continues at its current pace, Tottenham will apply to the Premier League for their opening group of fixtures to be played away from home, very much in the same way that Liverpool have this season whilst their new main stand was being constructed and West Ham will next season with the World Athletics taking place at the London Stadium. This will give them enough time to bulldoze the Paxton Road North Stand after the final game of this season and lay the pitch in the new stadium. Tottenham will then play in a horseshoe like stadium whilst the 17,000 all-seater terrace is constructed and other finishes applied to the rest of the stadium. Considering safety aspects the capacity should be around 40,000, some 8,000 more than the current capacity and saving the club around £15 million in costs of playing at Wembley.
