Exclusive: New stadium cannot happen without substantial public sector support, claims Tottenham

By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow

June 25 – Tottenham Hotspur have admitted that building a new stadium close to the site of their existing ground cannot be done without greater commitment from the local authority.

Earlier this week, Tottenham and Orient, as expected, failed in their bid for a judicial review to block West Ham United’s move to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, East London, after next year’s Games.

Spurs are now considering whether to apply for an oral hearing in the High Court whilst at the same time focussing more strongly on plans to turn White Hart Lane into a 56,000-capacity ground.

Planning permission has already been granted but rising costs means the club would have to find potentially half a billion pounds to go ahead with the so-called Northumberland Development Project (NDP) – unless they manage to acquire sufficient public backing.

The amount of residential property that could be built to offset the development costs has also been reduced and Spurs will now step up talks with Haringey Council to try and strike a deal over the massive local infrastructure costs.

“Obviously we are taking a fresh look at things and are trying to find viability to drive the NDP, but it won’t happen without public sector support,” executive director Donna Cullen told insideworldfootball.

Tottenham’s need to expand is increasingly desperate as they aim to stay competitive with a stadium that holds only 36,000 fans.

The club had originally turned their attention to the Olympic Stadium, after deciding their plans for a new ground adjacent to their current home were not economically viable.

Tottenham’s proposal, part of a joint bid with AEG sport and entertainment group, had been to knock down the Olympic stadium, rebuild it as a football-only venue and, by way of a commitment to athletics, redevelop the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace.

But following the recent court judgement, their need to find an alternative strategy is even more pressing.

“We never stopped looking at the NDP as an alternative option,” insisted Cullen, one of the main speakers at the inaugural Inside World Football Forum here yesterday.

“Of course we will have to fund a degree of it ourselves but no stadium ever happens in this country without public sector support.

“All we are asking for is the right balance.”

Cullen said the club were not prepared to go heavily into the red to realise their dream of a stadium on a par with neighbours Arsenal.

“We’re going to go back and see what might be possible but there is only a certain level of debt the club can take on and sustain.

“It cannot and will not go beyond a peak level.”

She admitted the quest for a new ground had been made tougher by the failure to acquire a judicial review of the Olympic Stadium process.

“We are not in an economic period where there is a situation of generous grants and we are obviously not asking at the best of times.

“However, our ask is very relevant.

“A stadium would absolutely affect the regeneration of an area of London that has long been ignored.”

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