English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur has today (Friday) confirmed details of the first major test event for its long-delayed new stadium.
The ‘familiarisation event’ will be held on December 16, allowing 6,000 fans to visit and explore the South Stand and podium areas at the new stadium. The event will be open for all One Hotspur Season Ticket Holders to apply for one ticket each for two timeslots – 11am to 1pm GMT or 1pm to 3pm.
Tickets will be priced at £1 (€1.1/$1.3) each, with Tottenham stating this will be an opportunity to test the new stadium’s ticketing systems. Season Ticket Holders who have been successful in their application will have the event loaded onto their new 2018-19 Stadium Access Cards which will be used to gain entry to the stadium.
During the event, fans will be able to familiarise themselves with the journey they will take on a home matchday, with access to both entry level podiums – Park Lane Square to the south and Paxton Terrace at the north.
Here, fans will help to test the matchday security procedure and entry through the South Stand turnstiles, with the single-tier stand open for supporters to explore. The South Stand is the home of The Market Place, the new stadium’s street food-style emporium.
The Goal Line Bar – running the entire length of the goal line and at 65m Europe’s longest bar – will also be accessible. The Beavertown Tottenham Taproom, home to the club’s own microbrewery – a first for any stadium – will be open. Food and drink on the day will be sold at matchday prices, with only cashless payments accepted at the new stadium.
The 62,000-seat stadium had been due to open in mid-September but Tottenham confirmed last month that it will not stage its first game at the new ground until 2019. It remains to be seen when the new stadium will open but it has been suggested that the match against Manchester United on January 13 may be a realistic target.
However, The Times this month reported that Tottenham has been warned it may be March by the time the club gets to play at its new home. The newspaper said contractors are working towards two different opening dates for the venue – January 13 for the United game and March 2 for Tottenham’s derby match against Arsenal. The latter date is said to be the more realistic of the two.
Earlier this month, the club was given permission to continue playing at Wembley – albeit at a reduced capacity. The Premier League match against Chelsea on November 24 was played at Wembley’s full capacity of 90,000, but thereafter the stadium will be capped at 51,000 unless otherwise advised.
Tottenham added today that further test events will be held in due course.
Image: Tottenham Hotspur
