da aviator aposta： At White Hart Lane things on the pitch are going pretty well at the moment – many thanks to the last minute Dutchman (he really is good isn’t he?) – but there is the continuing matter of where that football will be played in the future. The news that a move to the Olympic Stadium is now a distinct possibility, has thrown another spanner in the works of a possible development closer to home, but how much difference could it make to a club on the rise?
da heads bet： It is worth highlighting from the outset, that the Daniel Levy regeneration obviously faces hurdles. There is the planning permission regarding the development of White Hart Lane, as well as the fact that West Ham have launched an initial proposal to make the Olympic Stadium their own. If Levy goes all out to try and make Hackney his new home, and then the Hammers win the rights, it will be a very public defeat to take (although any possible move is a back-up plan should the White Hart Lane development fall through).
That said, when the development at White Hart Lane was first released, it caused a great deal of excitement. There was a real buzz amongst Spurs fans, with the single tier teetering over the pitch it adorns. If the club want to carry on growing, which they obviously do, then larger crowds will be needed. I’m sure as the players wearing the Tottenham white get better, and the football getting played improves, the number of people wanting to witness it will increase also. With a capacity just edging over 36,000, there is quite literally, room to grow.
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Given the option of the two currently being considered, there are pros and cons regarding both. The Olympic Stadium is the cheaper option; with far less work having to be done – the stadium already exists, well nearly – and so it would simply take some alterations, rather than working from the ground up. With that huge saving, comes the extra funds to invest in the team. In players of the highest quality from around the world, and young talent to develop through their academy; there could a whole load of Van der Vaarts (getting carried away, I know, but he’s so good!).
Despite this, moving away, and trying to create a new home from scratch is by no means an easy process. The extra money that would be saved would have to compensate for the move from their home, to Hackney. It’s not the biggest move in the country – Wimbledon being picked up and dumped in Milton Keynes springs to mind, which is a modern travesty and bordering on kidnap -but it is still a move away none the less. There is a lot of history at White Hart Lane, and upping sticks would make the transition from one stadium to the next much more difficult.
I think what it ultimately boils down to is the fact that the Olympic Stadium bid is a contingency plan. Levy is basically covering his back, and making sure, should anything go wrong closer to home, that there is the possibility of moving somewhere else. Hackney is not the ideal option, of that we can be sure, but the stadium itself will be impressive, and there is a great deal of money to be saved should that end up being the way forward. But it isn’t home. Moving away from their current location is a wrangle, and is obviously the second choice. While it may be more expensive, the extra crowds will come flocking, and there will be help through sponsorship and naming rights; It is not as if staying and developing White Hart Lane means never buying another player again. Playing a home game should be just that.
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