Industry News

NFL providing financial support for Spurs’ stadium – report

The NFL American football league has provided English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur with funds to build its new stadium, according to ESPN FC.

The website, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the NFL has so far contributed £10m (€11.8m/$12.8m) to the construction of Spurs’ new stadium, which is being built opposite the club’s current ground, White Hart Lane.

The stadium has already been pencilled in to host NFL games once it is completed and ESPN FC said the £10m sum will help make the 61,000-capacity ground suitable for staging such matches.

The NFL has a deal in place with Tottenham to stage at least two regular-season games at the stadium each year. The NFL is keen to strengthen its UK presence and has held games at London’s Wembley Stadium since 2007, and last year took the sport to Twickenham.

Spurs’ new stadium, which so far does not have a name, will feature a retractable field underneath the grass pitch that would be used for NFL games. Sources told ESPN FC that the NFL would not be paying the whole sum for the artificial surface as Tottenham intends on using it for other events such as music concerts.

The report added that the league would pay for amenities such as four NFL-sized locker rooms, as well as additional medical and media suites.

It is hoped that Tottenham will be able to move into the stadium in time for the 2018-19 Premier League season.