Events

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to host 2024 European rugby finals

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Featured image credit:  Tim Bechervaise on Unsplash

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is to finally stage European club rugby’s biggest event next year after it was confirmed as the host of the 2024 EPCR Finals Weekend.

The Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup finals will take place on May 24-25 at the 62,850-capacity home of Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs’ stadium had been due to host this season’s finals but they had to be switched to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium because of complications caused by the Premier League finishing later because of last year’s FIFA World Cup and the impact of the rugby fixture schedule because of the Rugby World Cup in France later this year.

The 2024 EPCR Finals will be the biggest rugby event at the London venue since it opened in 2019, with Tottenham having also hosted two Saracens Gallagher Premiership ties as well as a Barbarian FC v All Blacks XV match.

Dominic McKay, European Professional Club Rugby’s (EPCR) chairman, said: “EPCR has a proud history of taking its Finals Weekend to new cities and arenas – with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the latest in a list of cutting-edge venues. It is a sensational stadium with a burgeoning history of hosting rugby matches.

“It is quite simply one of the most exciting venues in the world and an incredibly appropriate stage for next year’s showpiece Finals Weekend. We know clubs, fans, broadcasters, partners and all involved will thoroughly enjoy the world-class experience.”

EPCR recently announced the bidding process for the 2025 and 2026 Finals Weekends. Its statement suggested it is open to the event being held outside of Europe for the first time.

Todd Kline, chief commercial officer at Tottenham Hotspur, said: “We are incredibly excited to be bringing more and more world-class sporting events to N17, enhancing the club’s ability to continue to invest in our football activities. With thousands set to descend on our neighbourhood from all over Europe and beyond for the EPCR Finals weekend in 2024, this also represents another huge moment for the area of Tottenham, delivering a further boost to our local economy.”

This year’s EPCR Finals Weekend will take place at Aviva Stadium in Dublin in May, with last year’s games at Stade Vélodrome, Marseille attracting more than 110,000 spectators.

In February, Tottenham announced that it had seen a double-digit rise in revenue during the most recent financial year as the Premier League club reaped the benefits of its stadium’s growing events list.

The club said revenue was up 23% year-on-year to £444m during the 12 months to June 30, 2022, which marked the first full season in the new stadium at capacity. Match receipts were up significantly to £106.1m from just £1.9m during the previous year, when just two home games took place because of restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commercial revenues increased by 20.7% to £183.5m, with that growth aided by the start of new major events being hosted at the stadium throughout the year as well as sponsorship and merchandising.

As well as the Saracens and Barbarians rugby fixtures, the stadium hosted rugby league’s Challenge Cup Final and the heavyweight world title bout between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk. The club also said it was aided by the development of visitor attractions such as Stadium Tours, The Dare Skywalk and Edge, and conferencing and events.