The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the stadium in London, England. And it is the home stadium of Tottenham Hotspur. It opened in 2019 at the site of Tottenham’s previous stadium White Hart Lane and with a capacity of 62,303, it is the third-largest football stadium in England. The construction cost £1 billion.
The project was first conceived in 2007 and announced in 2008, but the plan was revised several times, and the construction of the stadium, beset by disputes and delays, did not commence until 2015. Designed by Populus, the stadium was constructed in two main phases so that White Hart Lane could still be used in the 2016–17 season while construction was in progress. In the summer of 2016 the northeast corner of White Hart Lane was demolished. After the last home match of 2016-17 season was played, the remaining of the ground was demolished and all visible remnants of The Lane were removed by August 2017. In December 2017 the two steel “trees” that support the South Stand were erected. The compression ring that holds the cable net roof structure was completed in February and the roof structure raised in March 2018.
Parts of the old White Hart Lane have been incorporated into the new stadium and a number of heritage plaques are placed around the stadium, marking points of the old stadium. The pitch was laid in October 2018. The exterior of the stadium consist of 35,000 decorative tiles, 4,801 perforated metal panels and 2,505 glass panels.
The first match, an under-18s fixture between Tottenham and Southampton held on 24 March 2019, was attended by 28,987 fans and won by Tottenham 3–1. A week later on 30 March the legends match between Tottenham and Inter Milan took place in front of 41,244 fans. The stadium officialy opened with a ceremony on 3 April 2019 before the first Premier League game between Tottenham and Crystal Palace. Tottenham won the match 2–0, with Son Heung-min scoring the first ever official goal at the new stadium.
The record attendance of the stadium is 61,104 in the Premier League match between Tottenham and Chelsea on 22 December 2019.
The stadium is designed like a concert hall to optimise the atmosphere on match day. Although it is designed as a bowl, it still has four distinct stands. The South Stand influenced by Borussia Dortmund’s ”Yellow Wall” is the largest single-tier stand in the country, with seating for 17,500 fans.
The stadium has a retracable hybrid grass football pitch and a synthetic turf underneath for NFL games and other events. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is also the first and only stadium designed specially for NFL games outside of North America. The first NFL game at the stadium took place on 6 October 2019 between Chicago Bears and Oakland Raiders.
The name “Tottenham Hotspur Stadium” is temporary, the intention being to sell the naming rights to a sponsor. The stadium is occasionally referred to as New White Hart Lane.
