Well, it finally happened. It may have been almost seven months later than scheduled, but Tottenham Hotspur finally moved to their new self-titled stadium. Halleluja! And, despite the wait, it seems the arena is wondrous enough for all those timeline misgivings to be forgiven and forgotten in one fell swoop.
So, how and why did that happen?
Well, where to start. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is jam-packed with joyous features, from the revolutionary to the retro. Let's start with the most mundane of statistics: capacity. It has a whopping 62,062 seats, making it the seventh biggest in the United Kingdom, and the second largest in the Premier League, behind Old Trafford.
Most pleasingly of all, for those in white, will be the 1802 more spots more than the nearby Emirates, which has 60,260 - making Spurs' numerically similar total a clear example of excellent pettiness. And that number is almost matched in square metres by the stadium's screens - the largest of any ground in Europe - which stretch out to a dazzling 325 sqm, alongside 1,800 of their little high definition television siblings dotted around the interior.
Send us your photos of our new home.#SpursNewStadium ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/lGJxhhpgoK
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 25, 2019
If you're a VIP kind of guy or gal, then rest assured there are 8,000 premium seats at your disposal, ready and waiting to be plastered across your Instagram story, which you can upload using the stadium's installed WiFi (connection permitting).
But, here's where the adherence to the old White Hart Lane - the retro, if you will - comes in: no front-row seat is more than 8m from the pitch. Oh and the pitch, how could we forgot the pitch(es)! There's two! One retractable one with proper grass on it for proper football and another, right below it, with artificial grass for artificial football (NFL games as well as concerts, events etc).
That's a world first!
An unforgettable day.#SpursNewStadium ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/1EOlRYcz6b
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 25, 2019
And, that one-stand White Wall that you've heard about? That contains 17,500 of the 62k or so, and peaks at just over 34m high.
But enough about the metrics of the grass and the concrete. You just want to hear about the beer, don't you? Well, those jaw-dropping inverted dispensers can be found at some of the 65 food and drink outlets peppered around the stadium, and at a highly reasonable £4 a pop.
Amazing, this. Huge bar at the new Spurs stadium rapidly pours beers from the *bottom* of the glass, minimising head. ⚽ #science #football pic.twitter.com/4MgQoJeY49
— Jamie Bellinger (@okayjamie) March 25, 2019
Also, as a fan, you're not confined to your overflowing area of temporary residence. Unlike many English grounds, and more akin to the NFL/Cricket way of doing things, you are allowed to mill around the various backchannels as you please.
Some things you won't find? Plastic straws and cash machines, thanks to the cashless policy of all the various outlets. There are plenty of recycling bins, though.
An unforgettable day.#SpursNewStadium ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/1EOlRYcz6b
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 25, 2019
So, with all that and more to look forward to, the football might come as a secondary draw, but just in case you are interested in what fixtures you'll be able to see from now until the end of the season, here they are: Crystal Palace (April 4th), Manchester City (Champions League, April 9th), Huddersfield (April 13th), Brighton (April 23rd), West Ham (April 27th) and Everton (May 12th).
Any drawbacks, you ask? Well, it seems harsh, but there is no room explicitly dedicated to the delights of hardened dairy products. That's a real shame.
Source : 90min