Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium will have the ability to accommodate safe-standing, and will include an exclusive ‘tunnel bar’ in which fans will be able to see the players come out onto the pitch.
Darren Baldwin, the club’s head of playing surface and estates, lifted the lid on plans for the ambitious 61,000-capacity stadium during an address at the Saltex Convention in Birmingham this morning (2 November).
Baldwin revealed that the Populous-designed stadium had been drafted to allow for safe-standing at the request of chair Daniel Levy to try and replicate the atmosphere of White Hart Lane.
The safe-standing area would be part of the large 17,000 single tier ‘kop’ end at the stadium’s south stand, and was partly inspired by the ‘Yellow Wall’ created by the fans of German club Borussia Dortmund.
Baldwin said that when Spur’s played the former German champions at its Westfalenstadion ground last year, the “players felt under immense pressure”.
However, he admitted that it “could take a few years yet” for the government to relax the laws on standing at football matches.
The former Premier League Groundsman of the Year also touched on the “unique” tunnel bar, which allows hospitality fans to view the players from a few feet as they get ready to run out onto the pitch.
Baldwin also gave some insight into the pitch technology being used to accommodate both Premier League football and National Football League (NFL) matches.
Premier League matches will use a natural turf pitch, which will be rolled under the stadium for NFL games. American football will be played on an artificial pitch which is located around “six feet under” the natural turf.
The football pitch is split into three, with each part rolled under at the same time. Baldwin reckons it will take around 40 minutes for the transformation to occur.
The technology has been trialled at the club’s training ground, with a scaled down 21mx3m moveable surface, although it has cost Tottenham Hotspur £200,000.
In an attempt to make the facility a “365 day a year” venue, Spurs will offer a sky walk fan experience, where people will be able to scale the roof before abseiling down. There will also be an extreme sports hub.
Although the project was expected to cost £600m, Baldwin revealed that the figure was rising with “Brexit not helping”.
