So, it looks as though it is going to happen. Tottenham Hotspur are to leave White Hart Lane for good. No, it might not be for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford; that decision has been delayed to allow the Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC) more time to mull over proposals from Spurs as well as West Ham. Bigfreebet may place them as second favourites behind West Ham, but a move is on the cards nonetheless.
If Spurs were to miss out on the chance to move to the stadium in East London, it still wouldn’t signal the end of Chairman Daniel Levy’s plans to take the club out of North London. In an interview with Sky Sports, when asked if the club will look further afield if the bid to play in Stratford is unsuccessful, Levy replied “that is correct”.
Do not let the Spurs Chairman pull the wool over your eyes just yet. Having described any plans to develop the current site as not “viable”, Levy is proposing that there is no other option than to move out of the current ground.
Most Spurs fans will agree that a new stadium is necessary to aid the growth of the club. But most Spurs fans will agree that a move to Stratford is undesirable at best. But to suggest that Spurs have to move out of the area to be able to grow as a club is fundamentally wrong.
If there is any sport that can sustain the financial burden of a new stadium it is football, and if there is a club who can support the financial burden of a new stadium it is Spurs. Levy cannot have it both ways. He cannot charge the second highest amount for a season ticket (up to £1,700) and charge up to £80 for a ticket and then blame the financial aspect for the main reason behind the move away from the ground. You cannot have it both ways Mr. Levy. Spurs posted profits of £50 million in March 2010 and have turned a large profit every year under Levy.
In order to make more money for Levy the fans have to make sacrifices when he is not willing to himself? Football is the most popular and financially successful sport in the country and if Levy is not willing to spend money in the best interests of the club when the vast majority of supporters want to stay put then how can the relationship between the board and the supporters continue? The Stratford bid was backed by the same company that runs the O2 as an entertainment venue, and if White Hart Lane was redeveloped then surely that would be used as an entertainment venue as well, providing another revenue stream.
If the club are to make it to the big time they will have to spend money, there is no avoiding this, but with the long term future of the club at stake, it surely makes sense to spend more money and guarantee a long term return. Spurs fans will be much more inclined to fill a brand new White Hart Lane ground than the Olympic Stadium.
Levy has suggested it is too difficult to get to White Hart Lane currently, and while this is true it is a weak argument. Most clubs faced with the prospect of building new grounds have to deal with transport links and the problem facing Spurs is one that other clubs have successfully overcome. Why spend millions on designing, developing and getting permission from Haringey council if the move was never on the cards? The truth is that the development of White Hart Lane IS viable and is a possibility. Levy is trying to have it all his own way, and that is simply not acceptable to Tottenham supporters. He cannot plead poverty and charge the earth to watch the game. The Emirates and Wembley are just two stadiums built in London recently that faced the same problems that Spurs face and yet they overcame the obstacles and, in the case of Arsenal, the stadium now supplies financial stability for the club. To make an omelette you have to break eggs, it is as simple as that. While big free bet may see the move to Stratford as unlikely, any other move is years away, so the debate will continue to rumble.
The name White Hart lane evokes an emotion and is at the heart of the club. But, putting emotion aside for a moment, Spurs fans rightly feel aggrieved with recent developments. Daniel Levy has been a good chairman for the club and has backed Harry Redknapp where it matters, in the transfer market. The move to Stratford represents a good financial move but with thousands of people involved and the future of the club at stake the financial aspect shouldn’t be the only consideration.
But he runs the risk of not listening to the fans and alienating himself, and where would that leave him and more importantly, the club? He must listen and he must understand, otherwise any progress the club has made over the past four years will be rendered useless. After all, what use is a football club without supporters?
Good article, but lets not forget that Spurs only sought an alternative venue after the counsel pulled out of the deal to add some financial clout to help with the redevelopment. Arsenal had it when they set about the Emirates, why shouldnt we also benefit. the council knew the purchase of surrounding property and the subsequent regeneration plans will provide jobs and housing revenue as well as tidying up the area along the way, but see fit to place that squarely at our door for economic reasons. yes there is a recession, material costs are dropping – I say, re-tender for the job, we have planning application, tell the council to get on board – if those three things cant happen, a move is the only alternative much as it pains me to say it. I love white Hart Lane and I cant think of anything better than to redevelop WHITE HART LANE
Levy is not to blame here, I think you know what he means when he says it is not viable. Haringey, TFL and English heritage are bleeding us dry. Its economics, liken it to a bagel, last week it cost £1 this week it costs £2. When the scum rebuilt they got financial help. Tottenham have not, the are being asked to fork out money to Haringey, apparently every business pays the local council for ‘planning permission’, TFL want Spurs to pay for any transport infrastructure upgrade, and English Heritage are putting the squeeze on about two old buldings that meant a radical change to the plans.
So therefore a Stadium that was worth £450 one week can not be worth £500 the next week just because 3 interested parties want more money.
Spurs have tried to inject a rebuild worth just as much to the local community and any other interested parties, as to Spurs itself.
As for the ‘MP’ David Lammy he is a disgrace, he has done nothing but aggrevate the situation. It has got nothing to do with him. This is a Business deal. If he wants to get involved then get him to sort out why Haringey, TFL and English Heritage are doing their utmost to drive Spurs out of Tottenham.
so lets share our ground with a rock staduim then? levy to strafford with rock promoters and leave tottenham to the fans.. levy must go
The NDP does not cost £450m.
It costs £250m. £50m more than the Olympic Stadium demolition.
Haringey have stood by Spurs. They gave the planning permission in the end didn’t they!!!
They didn’t have to, but they did. How’s that for wanting to drive the club out of Tottenham
Jog on.
For crying out loud! Why are people knocking Levy? Can you imagine another 30,000 people arriving in the area for a match? Especially for an evening kick off! My god there’s some thick people about.’No but yer but no but our ground is…….’ Its time for Tottenham as a club to progress with the big teams. We will always have our history wherever the our ground is.(Hopefully not too far away 🙂
fuck you loser…there is two tube stations and a train station and it can cope..sorry you cant park your car outside so walk for twenty minutes and it might get some of that bulshit of your body..levy must go for putting money and a future rock staduim above our great history…levy out ..levy out
You have some good points has a fan but this is beyond fans logic and Levey cant afford to think like a fan in the biggest decision he and the board will make in our History. They are attempting to join same route Arsenal made years ago and even if you grudgingly look at them you will see there board made the same decision we are facing and we all must admit it was the correct one .We can stay at Tottenham from a fans perspective and hope we stay in the top four with the least amount of fans and build the new stadium with the original plans This would cost a lot more and the problem is we need to move double the amount of fans away from the stadium this is where the council and London Mayor could help and the Police heritage they could all rescue the original cheaper plans and repay Spurs the money it has cost to change the plans . The alternative is we lose the momentum to evolve then the players will leave followed by Harry and its back to mediocre years all this uncertanty is haveing a bad affect on the team ad it needs sorting quickly The MP Lamey is not helping by threatning he said he worked hard trying to get the plans excepted well it took three goes and a lot of money to do it he neds to work with Spurs and help to cut the cost with Government help and Harringay council, because it will enhance the area and help the surrounding businesses to prosper and Council will have a big hole in there Budget without Tottenham Hotspurs.
If Spurs do leave WHL it will the fault of the council – being too greedy and obstructive. However moving a club out of its area is fraught with peril and Levy ought to be cautious about doing that. I’d buy up the land and sit tight for a bit. It isn’t urgent that we move. With a depression coming we might do well to cut our coat according to our cloth. Try and establish ourselves as a top 4 team first.
levy out …levy out
Arsenal are now a north London team largely supported by fans generally living in north London and the surrounding areas. Like it or not – that is the bottom line.
Tottenham will follow Arsenal’s pattern insofar as that we will eventually become an east London team largely supported by fans generally living in east London and the surrounding areas. It won’t? I refer you to Arsenal once again.
Tottenham and West Ham will compete for future support mainly in the present West Ham catchment area. Sure we’ll do better than them but make no mistake – we will both suffer.
I live in Potters Bar and its full of Tottenham. Why would future generations want to support an east London team? they won’t – north London will belong to Arsenal.
There will only be two winners if our bid is successful – the money men and Arsenal.
This is the harsh reality of the situation and it makes me feel sick.
Football is all about tribalism and supporting your local team and we are giving it away.
well said potters…levy out levy out
A couple of quibbles. You will not have a music venue at Northumberland Park because the transport links are rubbish. Which is yet another reason why a 60,000 seater stadium won’t work there either. And as for the ‘Arsenal’ argument – most of Spurs’ fans now, come from Essex, Herts and, in the main, from a large belt of home counties north of London. That won’t change if they move to Stratford. We have few fans coming from North London these days.
I think we may be missing something here-does anybody know how long it will take to find a new site,get planning permission, sort transport links, get local approvals etc etc.My guess would be 4-5 years.So guys I think we could still be at the old stadium for a while yet!Has Mr Levy mentioned this yet?
great idea … why dont spurs stay at white hart lane and levy move to strafford…levy must go not spurs..ps spurs fans do live in north london in reply to that prat of a pro east london move… and dont forget strattford will be used for concerts also and other ” sporting events”, not quite our ground then is it . that cunt levy can fuck off and dont drag us down to his money is all level . levy out…levy out …levy out …levy out
ndg71
You are some sort of F-ing dick-head, all you can say is levy out levy out, try using wotz between your ears and come up with something constructive you f-wit, whilst I don’t agree with us leaving the Lane or come to that North London, and I would far prefer Levy to re-develop the current site as was originally planned. I think Levy would only leave the LANE as a last resort, I think this might be a tactic by him to force the local councils to change their minds and back his original plan to redevelop the lane. Anyone any thoughts on that!!!!!