Moving on up

As the 2013-14 season draws to a unremittingly disappointing close, Spurs fans are perhaps as widely disgruntled as they have been for half a decade. In a suspiciously timed statement, the board have made an attempt to re-gruntle the WHL faithful by informing them that the Northumberland Development Project – the construction of the long-awaited 8-million-seater stadium that will take us up to the next level – is entering Phase Two. We are moving up in the world.

Now, it would be easy to jibe that the solitary objective of Phase One seems to have been ‘build a Sainsbury’s’ – but the cynics among us must not discount the unseen and enormous task of securing the requisite land in the first place, and obtaining a Compulsory Purchase Order (or CPO, a polite name for a licence to push businesses out of an area).

This is no mean feat. There are, believe it or not, folk in Tottenham who do not love football, and who will not look fondly on an offer for ‘relocation funds’ from a company suggesting they move out to Edmonton, or Enfield, or wherever is further away than that.

[linequote]My uncertainty is about the scale of the operation in the first place, and the consequent time/money/effort involved[/linequote]

But ENIC have seemed to achieve at least part of this unenviable task. At least, they have bought up vast swathes of the area, and are waiting only for the fantastically named Secretary of State, Mr Pickles, to grant them the CPO. So far, so good.

Moderation

My uncertainty is about the scale of the operation in the first place, and the consequent time/money/effort involved. Of course we need a greater capacity – Stoke and Southampton are the only sides in the top half of the table that have smaller stadiums; our Premier League match day gate receipts are around a third of Woolwich’s. I could go on.

Secondly, as a life-long resident of Haringey, I fully support the re-development of the area – God knows it needs it. But as for the stadium itself, do we really need to toil away to such grand plans? 56,000 people is a lot, and our current 36,000-odd seats are by no means always full.

Could we – could anyone – attract 50,000 people to watch THFC vs Tromso in the first round of the Europa League?

I’m not talking the Tottenham support down; we have one of the largest and most-dedicated fan bases in the country. Our away support is especially strong. But even through the most Lillywhite-tinted glasses I struggle to see an additional 20,000+ people signing up for a season ticket.

[linequote]I would have added to the existing WHL structure to increase capacity gradually[/linequote]

ENIC quote the 47,000 names on the waiting list, but I’d take that with a pinch of salt. After all, every ‘Bronze Member’ is automatically put on the waiting list. I’m on it myself (number 44,523, if you’re interested) and if pushed, have no real intention of getting a season ticket. Many more will struggle to find the funds even if they wanted to.

Slowly, slowly

My choice would have been a more measured approach. I would have added to the existing WHL structure to increase capacity gradually. Both Liverpool and Chelsea did this in 1998, each increasing their grounds to something of the tune of 10-15,000 seats. I’m not an architect so cannot provide a detailed description of exactly how I would do this, but add 10,000 to the existing capacity and we are at 46,000.

That’s only 10,000 less than the current plans, and would take far less time, money and effort. And I’ve not even touched on the more emotional subject of moving out of the Lane as we’ve known it for 130+ years to a modern stadium that basically looks like the Emirates in blue.

Finally, Wembley. Or indeed any ground share. A means to an end; a necessary evil, fine, but still far from ideal (and something I thought was to be avoided in the original plans – what happened there?). I can only assume it was Twitter who swooped in to block the Spurs to Upton Park scenario, in a bid to save its central servers from meltdown – but Wembley isn’t ideal either.

It is often said that next to getting married and having a child, moving house is the most stressful thing anyone can do. Tottenham are one of the most chaotic, dysfunctional and wholly unstable clubs in the Premier League – could we survive playing in north west London for a year, in a half-empty 90,000-seat stadium?

[linequote] ENIC’s statement seems just a little too well-timed for me not to view it with at least a little cynicism[/linequote]

And how will the enormous expense of such a large stadium affect the team – our wage bill is only 7th highest in the league, and arguably our league position reflects this. Woolwich survived throughout their stadium development through Champion’s League TV rights, which we can far-from guarantee. And if, while we are playing at Wembley, something goes wrong and we have to spend a second year away from home, what then? It may all just be too much.

I’m not sure how to sum this piece up, or how to feel generally. After the Liverpool result, ENIC’s statement seems just a little too well-timed for me not to view it with at least a little cynicism; then again, it is relieving to know the the NDP isn’t dead in the water, and I was beginning to wonder. I want a bigger ground, of course, but is a 5+ year, 50,000+ master plan biting off more than we can chew?

All I know is that the past five seasons before this one have been great fun; the five after this, well, I can just hope for the best.