Levy’s Tottenham empire continues upwards!
By Peter J Arnold
In my previous article about Daniel Levy’s planning for his Tottenham Hotspur empire, I said we must look at the bigger picture. Rome was not built in a day, and nor will the magnitude of what Levy is creating for the Tottenham Hotspur experience be achieved overnight. Empire construction takes time.
The club has submitted a planning application for two extensions to Hotspur Way training ground. They have entered a new planning application to Enfield council to extend parts of that training ground.
Under the guidance of Levy, the club has hired designers to draw up propositions for two new extended parts of the training ground to hopefully get approval from the council. This is for future work.
With the club struggling for finance following the pandemic, the new buildings will not be built any time soon, but the club wanted to prepare the planning groundwork for future schemes.
The first application is to erect a single-storey extension to the club’s academy building to help develop more young players and give a dedicated space for Spurs-Ladies to train and work. Daniel Levy has always seen the planning of his empire or the Tottenham empire as a long term project. This extension will be an enlarged and improved gym for the growing demand within the club and provide a larger space that will allow two teams to train concurrently.
There will also be a dedicated rehab gym to decrease injuries and improve recovery time. Plus a new treatment room and more excellent sport science amenities, permitting more speedy and improved injury treatment, prevention and recovery.
The new sport science facilities will allow them to keep up with the ever-progressing sphere of medical science in football and allow “improved education and exposure” for the young players. There will also be an area for more team-kit storage and new changing conveniences for staff located away from the sports changing areas.
In the design statement from F3 Architects, the application states: “This application is a direct response to the club’s ongoing operational needs, as they seek to foster youth sport and increase opportunity for the local community. The success of the Academy programme, as well as the further promotion of Tottenham Hotspur Women, has led to the existing facilities no longer being sufficient to house the scale of current and future proposed operations in a safe manner.”
Levy has also entered a second planning application for a new two-storey extension alongside the first team entrance to create a new media centre. There will also be an extension for staff to produce content for the club’s various platforms.
The first team greeting area will also be altered to provide additional toilet facilities, and the space above that reception seating area will be transformed into a TV studio.
The extension will also add an external living wall system with plans among the timber and glass exterior to keep in with the green of the multifaceted training building.
Daniel Levy will not stop there; he is thinking more extensive and better all the time, as he wishes to do with the entire Tottenham Empire structure.
The new staff facilities will include desks for 20-25 workforce, an editing suite with desks for six people and black-out blinds with dimmable lighting, plus an editing space within a vast studio.
A decision over both extension applications must be made by Enfield Council by Tuesday, June 22.
As I said in my previous article and in this one, Levy will not achieve miracles overnight. Even our great White Hart Lane took decades to mould itself into what it became. Levy is building to make our modern amphitheatre even more significant than the archaic one it pulled down. When we are in a position to have hindsight, we will look at the pettiness of some fans for quick recourse to trinkets, and laugh. Levy’s road map will make the other top five clubs look like amateurs. Even the big clubs in Europe will struggle to compete with us. But to reach that potency will be like climbing Jacobs Ladder; it takes time, hard work and may even test the patience of those that are loyal, but once you reach the top, the view will be breathtaking. And so will the glory that will go with it.
By Peter J Arnold.
My name is Peter, and I have just joined this wonderful Spurs website, and I am looking forward to writing down my football thoughts and then presenting them to you. Agree or disagree; all views are valid and should be respected.
It was the famous philosopher Voltaire who said, “I might not agree with you, however, I will defend your right to say it”. Free speech. I am a journalist by trade for a local news outlet. I’ve been a Spurs supporter since the 90s.