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Spurs get planning permission for new 61,000-seater stadium
Next season to be the last at White Hart Lane as Spurs prepare for new era with massive redevelopment
Spurs' plans for a new £400m, 61,000-seater stadium have been approved by Haringey Council, which means next season could be their last at the old White Hart Lane site.
The three applications were eventually passed by councillors at a planning meeting that lasted until after midnight.
The Lilywhite's new home will be built next to White Hart Lane, but the club will be forced to find temporary lodgings for the 2017-18 season, reports the London Evening Standard. "Tottenham will now look to confirm a venue to host the team in the interim, with Milton Keynes and Wembley both options under consideration," says the paper.
The Week
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The "ambitious" stadium plans will give Spurs the largest club ground in the capital, with a capacity greater than that of both the Emirates, home of local rivals Arsenal which seats 60,432; Chelsea's redeveloped Stamford Bridge ground that will hold 60,000; and the Olympic Stadium, home to West Ham from next season, which has a capacity of 54,000.
Although fans of rival clubs have mocked the new designs for resembling a toilet bowl, the new ground could help Spurs challenge Arsenal and Chelsea financially. The latest football rich list estimate puts Spurs' value at less than half of Arsenal and Chelsea.
"Known as the Northumberland Development Project, the stadium project also includes a hotel, sports centre, health centre, homes and a Tottenham Experience, housing a museum and club superstore," says the Daily Telegraph. There will also be a "sky walk" that would allow visitors access to the roof of the stadium and the plans include 600 new homes in the area.
The new ground will also host regular NFL games from 2019 and the money-spinning agreement will help pay for the development. The dedicated facilities for American football will include expanded changing rooms and an artificial pitch hidden below the retractable grass pitch.
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Spurs stadium: Levy's NFL plan can flush Arsenal down the toilet
09 July
Spurs have unveiled plans for a new stadium in north London that will also host American football matches, and could help put their local rivals, Arsenal, in the shade - even if some have detected a lavatorial overtone to the design.
Plans for the redevelopment of White Hart Lane, set to be completed by 2018, involve increasing the capacity to 61,000 and installing an artificial pitch under the turf so it can host at least two NFL games each year.
The rebuilt stadium will boast a single tier stand holding 17,000 fans - more even than the Kop at Liverpool. The ground will be marginally bigger than both the Emirates and the redeveloped Stamford Bridge, which will make Spurs, on paper at least, the biggest club in London.
The plans are bold enough to "evoke at least a smidgen of envy from the club's London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea", says website HITC.com.
According to the Daily Telegraph the new ground could finally give Spurs the bragging rights in north London. The capacity and atmosphere at the new ground will be superior to those at the Emirates, says the paper.
The NFL deal is clever, too. It will allow Spurs to finance the deal and avoid the sort of austerity Arsenal were forced to endure, plus it will raise the club's profile in the US.
Daniel Levy's masterplan is finally coming to fruition says the Telegraph. "Like Shawshank Redemption's Andy Dufresne, Levy has been quietly preparing the ground for years, waiting patiently for his chance to strike. Only now is he able to crawl right through those disgusting sewers... and out into the open air."
Of course, not everyone agrees. But the line about sewers will strike a chord with Arsenal fans, who, says Metro, are convinced the new Spurs ground looks "uncannily like a toilet seat".
The paper reports that the Gunners "are clearly delighted that someone has taken architectural inspiration from their 'what do we think of Tottenham' chant".
