Also, getting the pitch ready - and it's going to be extra complicated with this extra pitch for the NFL.
Thought that the stadium had a retractable pitch, and that the NFL was not going to use Spurs grass pitch.
well its a bit different in that they are only building a part of now until they can demolish the old to make room for the rest. demolition itself will take some fair bit of time. then earthwork/prepping the ground before they actually go vertical
Would be incredible if they could use it in 6 months time. Although in my old home town of Toronto, they built a 13,000 seat ice hockey arena (Maple Leaf Gardens) in 5 months in 1931, from scratch, which is still considered one of the great engineering feats in Canadian history. The hockey team moved to a new arena in 1999, but the building is still being used for other purposes. Engineers have said that the building was so well-constructed and maintained that it would be extremely difficult to demolish! I know we are talking about a 60,000 facility, but it would be amazing and we wouldn't have to listen to all that "Spurs can't play at Wembley" claptrap... Audere est facere...
problem is, they have an existing stadium to demolish as well, and they can't start that until the season is over
From skyscrapercity, photos taken on 26th February. You can click on the images on the post above and this post to see full size.
And now Levy has evoked the possibility of playing one more season at WHL - he will not commit to Wembley or demolishing WHL unless he gets a guarantee that the new ground will be ready for the start of 2018-19. So what would that mean? Would they play the whole 2018-19 at Wembley or part of it until the new ground is ready? Always last-minute intrigue with Daniel Levy!
We'll move to Wembley, that is why the fa have asked Brent council for 36 games next year to be up to 90,000 capacity. It's just a back up option, we'll make the Wembley decision at the last minute (23rd March). We won't be at WHL next season I'm pretty sure of that. Can only play league home games at one ground during a season.
I would absolutely love - LOVE! - another season at WHL. I really fear for our first season elsewhere, be it Wembley, the new one, or wherever else. I know the time will come, and I realize that it's just kicking the can down the road; but I do think it would increase the odds of this team - the Poch/Kane/Alli core, or whatever you want to call it - actually winning something. I hope it stays intact for years to come; but my gut says things will look rather different by the time we move into the new stadium.
Spurs were at Brent Council tonight for the decision on the Wembley move - Brent Concil is the borough in which Wembley Stadium is located. The Council Committee has recommended that they accept Spurs proposal of 27 home matches at 90,000 capacity. However, some councillors want the capacity to be 51,000. As usual, local politicians are rather clueless. One asked if there was any evidence that more than 70,000 fans would come to any match, this after Spurs drew more than that for their 4 European games! Another asked if they could limit midweek games to one every two months! That was dismissed as unreasaonable. Another referred to the club as "the Hotspurs". Despite the stupidity on display, the application was approved 5-1. So Spurs are indeed going to Wembley, in more ways than one!
Spurs have until March 31 to activate the agreement. That will happen if Daniel Levy is given assurances that the new stadium will be ready for the start of 2018-19. Of course, this is Daniel Levy, so a lot of drama could unfold between now and the 31st!
Will be interesting to see what attendance at league games actually is. I know the European games did well, but those were highly limited. Supply and demand, innit. That said, a quick google shows the Spammers getting 56K consistently at the Olympic stadium so maybe demand meets supply regardless. Depends on prices I guess - I think I heard their prices were low.
For the marquee games, no doubt, and they have to plan for those. But for Stoke, Bournemouth, Middlesbrough? I'll be impressed if the average exceeds 70K.
Now Levy is being coy about whether this is really the last season in the old stadium. Do you suppose it's just to keep Spurs in the news?
oh please oh please oh please give us another year in WHL! I'm mortified that our year at Wembley will turn out a huge step backward on the pitch. If we could have another year to consolidate Poch's 'program' - and maybe actually win something - it could be less painful when it comes. I so hate the timing of all this. Right when we're 'getting the football side right' we're confronted with the massive obstacle of having no home ground. I truly believe that having something tangible - even a single FA Cup - to show we're on the right track might help to keep all the pieces in place.
If they got 85,000 for Gent, they will get 90,000 for Stoke. Not sure how many seats will be allocated to the away support (I don't think that was discussed at the Council meeting). There would probably be some limits for security reasons, but you could expect away teams to bring anywhere from 3,000 to 9,000 supporters (especially the promoted teams) and potentially more for FA Cup ties (the away allocation is currently 10% for the PL and 15% for the FA Cup).
It'll depend on pricing. They made Europa League tickets very reasonable. It's less likely to be (at least as much) the case for Prem games.