Tottenham Stadium Ready to Host Permanent NFL Franchise as Daniel Levy Dreams of Double-Header Games

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is ready to host a permanent NFL franchise, as Daniel Levy's vision to host Premier League & NFL games on the same day is revealed.

The stadium, which hosted its first NFL clash on Sunday between the Chicago Bears and the Oakland Raiders, is the first purpose-built American Football ground outside of North America, with its retractable pitch allowing for minimum disruption.

Chicago Bears v Oakland Raiders

And, according to Tom Jones, the senior principal at design firm Populous, who was speaking to the Evening Standard, this ease of use could allow for a team to be permanently based at the stadium, playing eight home games a year.

Jones explained: “The intention with the design was to avoid the overlay that other stadiums have to go through.

“The investment in the technology, and the reason for all of that planning, is so that the transformation time can be quick enough so that Tottenham could have a full schedule of football matches and potentially a full schedule of an NFL franchise.”

Levy currently has a 10-year deal with the NFL to host two games per year, but it is understood that he is hoping to secure a permanent UK franchise for the stadium, with games able to be played out on the same day as Premier League encounters.

Tottenham's technology manager, Paul Jennings, explained: “The club’s view is that they’ve already made that investment. It is capable of doing it, but it’s also capable of hosting one or two games per year.

“So now the powers that be will see how that evolves. It’s not like they started small and will have to change things to have a franchise there.”

Jones added: “The brief that we got from Daniel and the club was that they wanted a stadium that was perfect for football. But he had a great ambition to get the NFL to Tottenham.

“There are sliding pitches all over the world, but Tottenham had the ambition to be able to host multiple events. So, they wanted to be able to make it happen quickly. Daniel has a great ambition one day, which we all fear, of hosting a double-header of football in the morning and NFL in the evening."


Source : 90min