It seems that every club these days are either trying to increase the capacity at their current stadium, or move to another home – Chelsea have long been looking to either move or expand the bridge, Real Madrid are attempting to become the most ‘technologically advanced’ stadium in football – what ever that means – City sold their naming rights to Ethiad for a huge sum,and both Spurs and West Ham have been fighting it out for the right to move to the Olympic Stadium after the games in 2012.
Now you can’t expect to please all fans, and some will always be more difficult that others, but to me it seems entirely reasonable for Spurs fans to be more than a little bit miffed about the attempt to move them out of their North London home across the capital to the Olympic Stadium.
Said fans must have been happy when firstly the move fell through and secondly with the news that Spurs are planning to delist from the AIM after record revenues and operating profits rising by 42%. This is due to a number of reasons, including the revenue from the Champions League, and Daniel Levy now believes that by delisting and being privately owned, funding for a new stadium will become easier to acquire.
Cue a sigh of relief for fans wishing to stay in N17, as the £350 million Levy and Spurs want will be used to build a new stadium adjacent to White Hart Lane – in North London. It seems that Spurs have their hearts set on increasing their capacity in any way possible, and feel that the revenues that can be gained from this, and that ‘continued development’ for Spurs as a football club is vital if they wish to solidify a position in the top four of the Premier League and also compete with rivals financially.
A complex package including sponsorship deals, naming rights and a large amount of borrowed capital will be how Spurs plan to finance the NDP – a plan that has been mooted since as far back as 2008, yet looked to be curtailed by finance issues. After the decision to delist however, Levy is confident that Spurs can raise the funds, and continue with their plans to expand and move forward.
It will come as good news for fans who opposed the Olympic Stadium move, yet whether Spurs can actually raise such a vast amount of capital is still questionable, and even if they can fund the NDP, does not necessarily mean success on the field. Levy however is optimistic about the development plans, and is determined to see the club move forward, and how the fans will be glad it seems like being in North London.
Written by Rebecca Knight for FootballFancast.com.
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