Gooner with ideal way to belittle Tottenham’s new stadium on
Spurs were cleared to press ahead with their plans in a meeting which ran into the early hours of Thursday morning.
Tottenham intend to play away from their home ground for the 2017-18 season “to enable a faster construction of the new stadium” before opening it in time for the 2018-19 campaign.
Tottenham fans are now lording it over their Arsenal counterparts after the planning permission for their new, 61,000 stadium was approved.
The new, expanded plans include a larger stadium and wider range of facilities than in previous proposals approved by the council in 2011, and follow the club’s announcement of a ten-year agreement with the National Football League to host at least two games a year from 2018.
The council’s go-ahead means next season should be Tottenham’s last at White Hart Lane, the club’s home since 1899.
The last thing that much be done before Daniel Levy can sanction the full work is to find a temporary home, likely for one season, so that the current White Hart Lane can be demolished and the new one built.
The development is still to be formally approved by the Mayor of London’s office, although Boris Johnson has previously expressed his enthusiasm over the club’s plans.
Tottenham’s new home will have a capacity 500 greater than Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium – opened in 2006 – and be smaller only than Manchester United’s Old Trafford, as it stands in the Premier League.
The NFL matches will be played on a retractable pitch, with other facilities in the stadium including a hotel, health centre and sports centre.