Guest Helston Patriot Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Tottenham have turned to a man who played a major role in the development of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium to help them build a venue of similar quality. Tony Winterbottom, formerly of the London Development Authority, is now masterminding plans to expand Spurs' White Hart Lane ground to about 52,000. The project would cost in the region of £300m of which £150m would be borrowed. But it would mean Spurs vacating White Hart Lane for two seasons, prompting a possible ground share with West Ham. A couple of years ago Tottenham were very keen to become permanent tenants at Wembley but the Football Association did not want that. Now, as revealed on Monday's Inside Sport, Tottenham have again approached Wembley to enquire about playing some of their matches there while they rebuild White Hart Lane. But Wembley want a lot of money to hire the stadium and Tottenham may only consider it worthwhile that top matches, such as the derby with north London rivals Arsenal, are played there. The board feel if they don't catch up with the existing big four now, then maybe they never will So they have also spoken to West Ham, with a view to playing the less high-profile matches at Upton Park. The problem with West Ham is that the Hammers are themselves thinking about building a new stadium, so that might complicate things too. [u]Sharing the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal is a non-starter given the rivalry between the fans. JOKE!! Consequently, there is also talk of Tottenham playing some matches at a ground outside London. But while rebuilding White Hart Lane is the preferred option for Spurs, there are two other alternatives that are being considered. One is to develop some land just north of White Hart Lane. This would mean Tottenham would continue to play at White Hart Lane while the new stadium was built. Or they could develop one of a couple of possible sites in Enfield, but that would mean a new stadium quite some distance from their current ground. Redeveloping White Hart Lane is definitely the number one choice and Paul Phillips, a project manager at Emirates, is also helping Tottenham. Spurs have also got high-powered architect Ken Shuttleworth, who is the right-hand man of Norman Foster, whose company designed the new Wembley, on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coopsie Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 TOTAL NONSENSE and nothing but press speculation. Who started the speculation of redeveloping WHL? As a club statement clearly said, the FULL story was in the Annual Report which board members, season ticket holders and shareholders have had for 3 weeks now. You can speculate as to where the sites in Haringey and Enfield are - staying at WHL is an option but IMO the LAST option. No decision/announcement will be made until the first half of next year so to think WHL is the favourite is way off the mark. Upgrading the stadium at its present site is a crazy idea! Getting to and from the ground at its present 36k capacity is bad enough- another 20k fans on top of that is a complete recipe for disaster. As much as I love WHL and the special atmosphere there is no room for nostalgia in the modern game- a brand new stadium on the parcel of land north of WHL that they are talking about with upgraded transport links and a traditional 'English' steep sided terrace design is the ONLY way to go. The OFFICIAL response from the club on this story is as follows "Tottenham have responded to strong speculation about the expansion of White Hart Lane. On a statement made via the Official website, Tottenham confirmed they are reviewing their options and will commit to an option in the first half of 2008." Take reports from the media with just a pinch of salt fellas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Helston Patriot Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Holy Shit coopsie, you writing war and peace? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coopsie Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Holy Shit coopsie, you writing war and peace? No bud, just like to let people know the FACTS,rather than the stuff that is printed to sell a few thousand extra tabloids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Helston Patriot Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 It wasn't in the papers as i never buy any, I got it from www.bbc.co.uk/sport Seems a nerve might of been touched.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coopsie Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 No nerve touched HP mate, I read the same thing on BBC Teletext myself earlier, so went straight to the official Spurs website, signed into my account and got the facts. The club actually said before the season started that they will announce stadium plans at the start of NEXT YEAR (2008), that is why I was puzzled by what i read on teletext earlier on. I don't know if you've ever been to the lane HP but if you have, you will know that redeveloping it is simply not a serious option. The whole stadium would need to be knocked down and rotated 90degrees to accommodate the increased capacity and the area can't even cope with 36000 fans, let alone an extra 20000 because transport links are simply none existant. Whether we rebuilt W.H.L or not, I'm glad that we can learn the lessons from the mistakes made at the Emirates and Wembley. These bowl stadia have no atmosphere. A stadium with four steep sides is the choice for me! I liked the look of the plan for Liverpool's new place, with a huge steep 'kop' end. That would be great for Spurs's park lane end, where season tickets could be cheaper and you keep a lot of the core supporters together rather than dispersing them round the bowl! Bowl stadia are for people more interested in doing mexican waves than for football! Although if the current stadium is rotated, the park lane will no longer be the park lane if you know what I mean. I think they should rename paxton road and park lane so they correspond with the current layout, otherwise it'll ruin some of the fans songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Coopsie, do they still get 36,000 fans there ??? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Helston Patriot Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 The closet i came to the lane is when i got off 1 stop too late! Ment to get off at Arsenal station but ended up at Tottenham. Needless to say i quickly covered up my Arsenal shirt and got the FxxK out of there!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coopsie Posted November 6, 2007 Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 The closet i came to the lane is when i got off 1 stop too late! Ment to get off at Arsenal station but ended up at Tottenham. Needless to say i quickly covered up my Arsenal shirt and got the FxxK out of there!! Wise choice HP, not exactly the nicest area is it?. You should have tried growing up there. I was once offered £500 to walk through Highbury (Town, not stadium) with my Spurs tattoo proudly on show. Obviously the fact that I'm here typing this is proof that I simply didn't have the balls to do it. Anita you cheeky git, Spurs sell out EVERY game, home and away. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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