Spurs welcome NFL to new Lane in 10-year deal
TOTTENHAM will host two NFL games per year at their new 61,000- seat arena from 2018, it was announced yesterday. The 10-year deal makes Spurs — who have unveiled plans for their new home — commercial rivals of the FA, who have a deal to stage NFL games at Wembley until 2016.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy confirmed he wants the club to relocate to the national stadium for the 2017-18 season while their new ground — adjacent to their White Hart Lane home — is built, but is yet to convince the FA to allow them to do so.
Chelsea want to use Wembley while Stamford Bridge is redeveloped but Levy kicked off a PR campaign to secure Spurs’ move there, saying he expects the FA to ‘do the right thing’ and ‘find a way to accommodate both clubs’. An alternative relocation to Milton Keynes would be unpopular with Spurs fans and the club’s Supporters’ Trust published an open letter to FA chairman Greg Dyke yesterday asking him to support their side’s move to Wembley.
Whether the FA will be amenable remains to be seen. They have a lucrative deal to stage three NFL games a year, worth around £3million a game.
Spurs, who will move into the gridiron market with their own NFL deal, are believed to want to become the permanent home of any future London NFL franchise.
It has long been mooted that the Jacksonville Jaguars — owned by Fulham chairman Shahid Khan — will move to London at some point in the not-too-distant future.
The Jaguars have always steered clear of any public talk of moving to London permanently because, insiders say, it would create uproar back home. Khan said in a statement: ‘The NFL’s commitment to the UK is absolute and the Jacksonville Jaguars are extremely proud to be part of it.’
Meanwhile, Spurs have signed Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid — although the defender could be involved in a legal wran- gle between Southampton and the Spanish club. Last season the 26-year-old was on loan at Saints, who had a deal in place to sign him.
Under the terms of the loan, Atletico could pay Southampton £1.5m to cancel the agreement. Saints claim Atletico did not do so in time, and therefore they should have been the front-runners to sign the Belgium international.
Spurs’ £ 26m striker Roberto Soldado has told the club he is keen to leave this summer for regular football. Villarreal and clubs in Turkey have been interested but are deterred by Tottenham’s £12m valuation.
TOTTENHAM’S STADIUM SET TO DOUBLE UP WITH THE NFL How Sportsmail’s Matt Lawton broke the story back in April