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The New Stadium Fiasco

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This whole ‘Naming Rights Available/Stratford’ business has become a mess.

As I understand it, the Primark Massive have had their dream to be the Bingo club with the biggest premises in the Championship potentially gazumped by Levy & Co.

Spurs started off with airbrushed images of a brave new world. Boulevards scattered with happy smiling Client Reference numbers, a village of 21st century consumer contentment with searchlights beaming a feel good factor into the heavens. Not a Rasta having a purple can of Tenants for breakfast to be seen for miles.

So that was then, this is now. Let’s examine the bids.

West Ham’s bid comes cleverly packaged. The way they operate their football club, as is their bid.

Fundamentally skint, they are using the prospective sale value of their current luxury cowshed in conjunction with anticipated future revenue streams, foremost of course being gate, broadcasting and merchandising, crotchless panties and five lighters for a pound monies to achieve the required funding figure. This will be fronted by Newham Council.

Their financials are largely in guesstimate territory. In an attempt to distract from this potential danger area, Karen Brady is making much of the ‘Olympic Legacy’ element. This is quite cunning of the Pikeys and they are only to be applauded for latching on to it.

Athletics is a rum gig. Regarded by all and sundry as an essentially ‘good thing’ , forever wrapped up in some romantic notion of good old fashioned exercise, character building, team spirit and all that jazz. The reality of course is that interest has been on the wane for some time as the age of Playstations has all but killed youngsters kicking a ball against a wall, let alone going for a jolly good run to get some refreshing fresh air or practicing the shot put like some 1950’s comic book character.

But crucially, West Ham’s willingness to embrace the ‘Legacy’ will give them by default the support of UK Athletics, Lord Coe, The Lord Mayor of London and a whole barrel load of middle class hoo-ray Henrys who only attend stuff that befits their world, opposed to the real one.

The Tottenham bid is as you might imagine commercially solid. Not backed by a local Council but by 02 Arena operators and entertainment giants AEG. The ‘Legacy’ element from the Hotspurs will be billed by those who like the West Ham bid as, ‘an afterthought’.

The idea is to rip the existing stadium apart, specifically binning the idea of a running track. Good news for watching footy. A real deal breaker for those wanting to have a pop at the 800 metres. This ‘callous’ attitude is tempered with a strategy to contribute to an alternative athletics to be arranged, ‘elsewhere’. Of course it isn’t callous. It’s realistic.

So what went wrong with the Haringay deal? At this moment in time their about fifty million reasons to discourage Spurs staying local. All with the Queen’s head on. The threat of Tottingham walking has prompted Haringay council to revisit their compulsory purchase orders to see if they can be wooed into staying.

The Haringay option will deliver a stadium so far removed from what we are used to, that if it happens you’ll spot folk glancing wistfully at Chick King, smiling kindly at white dog sh*t on the way down from Seven Sisters as they prepare enter into what will be not dissimilar to an Industrial Light & Magic movie set.

The Stratford option will alter the dynamic of being a Yid forever. It will be a purposeful stride upon the path of globally recognized branding. All the transport aggro will be in less than an instant, ‘gone’. Spurs fans will be underground, overground Wombling free. Tottinghamization awaits.

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121 comments

  • drwinston001 says:

    The longer this goes on, the more I’m starting to come round to the idea of Stratford. As much as I hate it, this is 2010 and if we want to compete it’s starting to look like the more viable option.

    Obviously, leaving the history behind would be something none of us would ideally want to do but others have done it and more will follow at some point. Maybe it’s time we did what was right for the future and not concentrate so much on the past?

  • Yesblud says:

    1st. No, no, no to Shatford. I can’t bear to think of it.

  • toddspur says:

    Lets stay at WHL and extend it; let Haringey worry about the transportation issues…its their fault this has dragged and the the costs escalate

    • Bruxie says:

      Problem is…

      Haringey couldn’t give a stuff for the fortnightly excursions of yids and have beset the club with onerous (£50m) conditions on the WHL redevelopment.

      I travel over 60 miles to watch ‘Spurs and it’s 57 miles ok and 3 miles of grief. Imagine them trying to deal with 60,000.

      Haringey don’t deserve us. They cannot cope with 36,000.

      Stratford – as HH points out – is accessible. What’s more it’s accessible to 60,000 with relatively modern transport.

      On the global thing – aren’t you ever ashamed of the degeneration of the areas around WHL? We want to host Milan, Barca and Madrid on a regular basis.

      What do you think our image is like abroad? Slummy. Dangerous.

      Unless we get a re-appraisal by Haringey and a reduction in barriers to regeneration we might as well go.

      What does the world know of Harringey – apart from Baby P and a grotty neighbourhood?

      After 2012 ‘Spurs would be effectively the Olympic legacy.
      I’m all in favour of us building them a running track elsewhere – with 40,000 seats to satisfy the 2017 World Championships bid – why not redevelop Crystal Palace or another venue?

      • Trembly says:

        Haringey is a terrible council. It was when I lived there and it’s gotten progressively worse over the decades.

        In all that time, the excuse of never having enough money is terrible given how much funds we all know councils waste.

        Will building a new stadium there help regenerate the area? It could start something big, but it seems that the council and government want Spurs to finance the whole lot without dipping into their pockets.

      • toddspur says:

        All valid points but a lot of Spurs fans will struggle to fight their heart and accept the move away from Haringey….I,m one of those

  • Tongy says:

    It is a difficult one. For me, I would love for Tottenham to remain in Tottenham. However, the option of moving becomes remarcably cheaper for an even bigger stadium, transport links that are second to none in this country and a quicker move. It is financially and viably more attractive then re-developing our current home. At the end of the day, it is like trying to judge sentimental value. If West Ham go down, there will be no other bidders to compete with, they may be forced to accept our proposal. Levy is a Spurs fan, he will do what he thinks is best for our future – in him I trust.

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