Spurs Consider Controversial Move to Enfield - Guardian

[michaelden]

http://football.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,,2183087,00.html

[FONT=Geneva,Arial,sans-serif]Paul Kelso
Thursday October 4, 2007

[/FONT]Tottenham Hotspur are edging closer to a move from their traditional home at White Hart Lane, with the club understood to have identified potential sites for a stadium including one in Enfield, which would take Spurs outside their home borough of Haringey.The club are considering their stadium options and the chairman, Daniel Levy, intends to update shareholders on his intentions when the annual results are posted, expected some time in the next four weeks.



The director Paul Kemsley has been leading the search for alternative sites for a 60,000-seat stadium, but a move outside Haringey would be controversial because it would take the club as far as 10 miles from their traditional home.
Expansion of White Hart Lane has not been finally ruled out but the lack of an obvious temporary home ground - the Olympic Stadium and Wembley have been ruled out in the short term - as well as a perceived lack of support from Haringey council remain obstacles.
Spurs have been pressing for assistance from the council and Transport for London to improve transport links to the ground, which is among the most difficult to get to in professional football, but have been unsuccessful so far. Directors met at White Hart Lane to discuss the issue yesterday, but the deliberation over the Enfield site has echoes of Arsenal's threat to move to Camden, a ploy that helped persuade Islington council to help the club stay in the borough when they left Highbury.

 

[t79boy]

10 miles !! that is so controversial !!

 

[shelfspur]

Enfield Hotspur eh?

 

[SouthLondonSpur]

Being born an Enfield lad I quite like that. However, I cant see it. probably just some PR stunt to make Harringey look bad. Those council men keep blocking the WHL plans.

They're always trying to steal our Lucky Charms.......

 

[michaelden]

I don't care if we move to Deptford as long as we get a larger stadium stat

 

[shelfspur]

Or could go for a Wimbledon/Milton Keynes style merger and call ourselves Enfield Spurs... wonder if they've got an decent centre mids :roll:

 

[justfookinhitit]

I think it is time for Harringey council to make their mind up and state what their position is regarding spurs - they either want to support one of the borough's greatest assets or they don't.

Between 20 and 30 times a season we bring 36,000 people into an area where they probably wouldn't usually go to spend money. That money supports countless local businesses. Spurs itself as a business pays monstrous amounts (via tax & rates etc) to the local authority which in the main is redirected to fund other investment projects within the borough.

The club needs to significantly increase its capacity to drive additional revenue to enable it to thrive in the future. This increased capacity will have a direct knock-on positive financial impact on the local economy.

Seems like a pretty simple equation to me - either the local authority want and need the cash injection spurs gives, or it doesn't. If it doesn't then they should come clean and we can assess our options and in all likelihood move to an adjacent borough which is more willing to accomodate us.

I'd love for us to stay at WHL but if securing the long term future means moving away from the current site then so be it.

 

[michaelden]

I'm with you, jfhi. Stuff Harringey. If we get a better deal from Enfield then let's move. Build an eye sore where WHL stands and let the council rot in hell.

It's been going on for so long now all I can say is f*** the council, let's move.

 

[johnmc]

Yes it is all taking far too long to even get off the ground. Enfield is not so far away from Tottenham. A big Spurs following in the area I believe.

 

[montylynch]

It's time to call Harringeys bluff. Either back us or lose us. They'll soon notice the difference in their businesses income once 36,000 don't turn up to a game once or twice every week. If they backed us and allowed us to expand and got the transport links in the money they would invest, if they would invest any at all, would get repaid big time with a bigger stadium, bigger crowds, maybe CL footie and a better image.

If not, lets pack our bags and head to Enfield, sell off the ground to Aldis or Morrisons.

 

[chewie]

so long as its there or there abouts the A10 Corridor, what does it matter.

we'll still be THFC, in name, and the history will always remain with us.
The council has made things difficult for us at every corner, transport links are a joke.

aint like we're moving south of the river or to scotland is it!

plus id like to see more games... but not while i have to shell out £70+ for a day out.

 

[SpurSince57]

Considering Enfield blocked our planning application for the academy (have you signed the petition in support of the new application yet? http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news...ursupport.html ), I don't think this has a cat's chance in hell of happening.

 

[Stoof]

If that's what it takes then surely that's what we have to do. An extra 10 minutes on the train is hardly a botherance.

It's not just not White Hart Lane is it? :-(

 

[SpurSince57]

So that's what Kemsley was doing in the Alfonso XIII when he bumped into Ramos.

This just smacks of lazy journalism to me.

 

[arthurgrimsdell]

I suspect this is nothing more than sloppy journalism. We are applying for the training academy in Enfield. Some idiot of a journalist has mis-read it, also read something about us wanting a new ground, put two and two together and made nonsense. All the rumours since we opted out of using the Olympic Stadium have been about expansion or new sites within a mile of the WHL area, with the temporary use of Wembley sometimes envisaged. Now, suddenly when we've put a new planning application in for the Academy site, we've apparently also decided to site our new ground there, according to this report, which is completely devoid of any facts to back its assertions. I'm far from convinced.

Edit: Sorry, SpursSince57. You beat me to it.

 

[shelfspur]

We wouldn't be able to sing 'Super Tottenham from The Lane' :-(

 

[Insomnia]

You only need to look up the road to see the difference that the extra bum's on seats do for the clubs growth & income,WHL is dwarfed in comparrison to most other Premiership grounds,we need to make a decision NOW for the future of our club

 

[rez9000]

I suspect this is nothing more than sloppy journalism. We are applying for the training academy in Enfield. Some idiot of a journalist has mis-read it, also read something about us wanting a new ground, put two and two together and made nonsense.

I don't see how you came to that conclusion seeing as there is specific allusions to the foot-dragging that Haringey have conducted with regard to the stadium. Also the mention of Transport for London has little to do with Enfield, whose transport links aren't considered an issue.

Furthermore, Enfield's blocking of the new training ground are to do with the impact that it would have on the environment of that site. The stadium wouldn't be built in the same place.

which is completely devoid of any facts to back its assertions. I'm far from convinced.

Not devoid of facts? Paul Kelmsley has been leading the search for the new stadium. Fact. I doubt he's restricted his search simply to the Haringey area.

Spurs have been pressing the council and Transport for London to improve transport links to the area. And the council and Transport for London have been dragging their feet.

Everytime a story appears that people don't like they blame it on sloppy journalism. He isn't stating that Spurs are moving away from White Hart Lane for definite, he is merely saying it's a possibility. And he also states that it may be a smokescreen by the club in order to light a fire under Haringey's arse so they stop messing the club about with regards to a new stadium.

On a personal note, if the transport links around the stadium aren't improved, then a move away would most probably be benficial to the club. Look at the Scum Factory. The transport links are very efficient even though, unlike WHL it's not on a main road. WHL is on an A-road, has two overland stations within walking distance (Bruce Grove and White Hart Lane), plenty of buses passing in front of the stadium, and the North Circular (I think) a small distance away. And yet it is, as the journalist says, one of the most difficult stadia to get to (another fact in an article labelled devoid of same).

Haringey Council seem quite content to enjoy the massive revenue the club pours into the local area on a regular basis but won't raise a finger to assist the club responsible for that revenue. The Scum got Islington to blink and it's right that Spurs should attempt to do the same. Otherwise as someone has said, we shoud move away and let Haringey rot.

 

[Viper]

I believe we have to move. Just look at the great stadium Arsenal have and they have already made £200 million back from it! Thats big numbers and could make a major difference to us. I have no doubt we could fill a 60 thousand capacity stadium

 

[justfookinhitit]

I believe we have to move. Just look at the great stadium Arsenal have and they have already made £200 million back from it! Thats big numbers and could make a major difference to us. I have no doubt we could fill a 60 thousand capacity stadium

Just one point - their revenue figures released last week or whenever it was were impressive but they still have the huge debt for building the stadium around their necks. After servicing their debt, at the moment their profit is similar to ours. But long run their cash flow will dwarf ours if we don't so something sharpish.