The Evolution of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: From Football Venue to Multi-Purpose Entertainment Hub

The Transformation of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: From Brick and Mortar to Multi-Purpose Entertainment Venue

It has become a common occurrence at Tottenham home games this season, particularly when they win. Tens of thousands of fans who have been in the south stand all afternoon stay long after the final whistle, sometimes long into the night, drinking and singing Ange Postecoglou’s name. There is an expanded concourse called ‘The Marketplace’, and an outdoor area behind it called the ‘Fan Zone’, and between them they keep fans entertained, singing and drinking together long after the rest of the ground has emptied out.

This was part of the vision when the stadium was built. Firstly that it should be a place where fans spend far more time (and money) than they ever would in the old White Hart Lane. The club know very well how much more ‘dwell time’ there is in American sports stadiums, and were determined to learn from it. This has been one of the triumphs of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, turning it into a place where fans queue up to get let in hours before kick off, rather than just darting straight into their seat with minutes to go.

These scenes are also a marker of something else, the fact that this season Spurs fans can see their values, their “Tottenham DNA” reflected in the character of the team and the manager. For too much of the stadium’s five-year lifespan — 17 months of which were lost to the pandemic — that has not been the case.

While the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been successful in so many ways, transforming the matchday experience, elevating the global profile of the club, bringing in more money through football and non-football events than anyone thought possible, it has also prompted something of a battle for the soul of Tottenham Hotspur.

This is a club which has always had a distinct feel. Its teams have been known more for their style than their substance at times. It has played on the same patch of suburban north London — excepting their enforced exile at Wembley — since 1899. The club has now been in the same hands for 23 years, which in modern football is noteworthy in itself.

The challenge Spurs have faced is to build this shining tyre, this ground of the future, the £1.2billion ($1.5bn) stadium that turns them from an aspirational club into an elite one. While retaining that imagination, that family character, that noble romance, that entrepreneurial spirit which makes them what they are.

The first thing to talk about here is money. That is what makes the football world go round and Tottenham have never been a club who can just rely on endless injections of it from their owners. They have had to make it for themselves. The old White Hart Lane was wonderful in many ways but trying to make money from it was like trying to get blood from a stone.

Manchester City and Arsenal moved grounds in the 2000s, Manchester United and Liverpool were expanding their stadiums, and Tottenham needed to catch up. White Hart Lane would bring in on average £1m ($1.26m) per home game, and so until Spurs left, their annual matchday revenue would be just over £40m ($51m) per year. In the last season at White Hart Lane, 2016-17, where Spurs made £45m ($57m), Arsenal and United both brought in over £100m ($126m) on matchdays.

Compared to White Hart Lane, the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a gigantic 62,000-seater ATM. Tottenham make close to £6m ($7.5m) per matchday. Over the course of a season that makes for an unbeatable number. Over the 2021-22 season, the first back after Covid-19, Spurs made £106m ($134m) in matchday revenue, second only to Manchester United. Even though their European campaign that season, such as it was, constituted three home games in the Europa Conference League. Last season’s figures are expected to be even higher when the accounts are released shortly.

To some fans this may just be numbers on a spreadsheet but in the 2020s it is likely to matter more than ever before. In years gone by, the most important determinant of whether a team would succeed was whether or not their owners were willing to pour in money, which meant that Tottenham were at a disadvantage. But in the PSR era, where financial losses are strictly limited, teams will ultimately stand or fall by their revenues. With a modern stadium that brings in more than £100m ($126m) per year in matchday revenue alone (more on non-matchdays shortly), no wonder Daniel Levy has been so publicly supportive of the rules. In the era of PSR, these guaranteed revenues are invaluable.

In terms of how the stadium generates that money, a big part of it is from food and drink. The stadium is better equipped with bars than anywhere else in the league. With fans welcome to arrive early and stay late, the club can expect to bring in roughly £1million ($1.26m) per home game in food and drink revenue. (Which may sound like a lot, but is very little compared to what they would bring in for food and drink during an NFL game at the same stadium.) A big chunk of the revenue, of course, is tickets.

There is no avoiding the fact that going to watch Tottenham is expensive. Next season, adult season ticket prices will range from £856 to £2,367. Only Arsenal have a cheapest adult season…

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