Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Licence To Stand

[ricky2tricky4city]

though Joe Lewis might - Enic is a sports club afterall. THFC just benefiting from the ENIC tie up.

interesting.....never thought of it that way. Undoubtedley we'll start of with NFL events or the odd game, as i think the NFL want an overseas franchise but are treading carefully and are going to make sure its a goer from the get-go.

BUT when it comes to the green light for a franchise we all think the Jags, Rams etc would continue their nomadic life but why the hell wouldn't Lewis and his ENIC sport vehicle be thinking of his own NFL franchise? and reaping ALL the rewards that go with it? (London Spurs)

Champions League team and NFL team + brand new world class stadium = $$$$$$$$$$$$££££££££££££$$$$$$$$$$£££££££££££

 

[jts1882]

I can't see us getting much direct financial gain from new ownership and an NFL tie up, e.g. a sugardaddy type owner (I'd expect one like Kreonke, Lerner or the Boston mob) or a free stadium (NFL owners usually want that for themselves). The positives would be a higher standard of stadium for a similar investment, with potential gains in sponsorship.

 

[greatwhitenorf]

I do not think we will get an NFL 'franchise', but I can see us hosting the odd NFL event. I just don't think the NFL is ready for a full foreign franchise yet.

Y'know, if it was merely speculation in the media or amongst fans about the NFL going abroad, you'd have a point.

But when it's influential owners like Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones or NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell himself clearly stating it numerous times at high-profile events, it's a different matter altogether.

Beyond that, what leaks have been issued to the media have gone out to journalists with long-established careers connected to NFL coverage or actually once working for the NFL. They don't jerk those sort of people around capriciously.

They're serious.

 

[greatwhitenorf]

I can't see us getting much direct financial gain from new ownership and an NFL tie up, e.g. a sugardaddy type owner (I'd expect one like Kreonke, Lerner or the Boston mob) or a free stadium (NFL owners usually want that for themselves). The positives would be a higher standard of stadium for a similar investment, with potential gains in sponsorship.

I agree. It probably won't amount to much for Spurs directly. Indirectly, they'll get the finest stadium possible and greater visibility through the stadium becoming very well known. The borough of Haringey will see more events at the stadium which is important to local businesses. It will add up to a lot of benefits for Spurs.

 

[greatwhitenorf]

interesting.....never thought of it that way. Undoubtedley we'll start of with NFL events or the odd game, as i think the NFL want an overseas franchise but are treading carefully and are going to make sure its a goer from the get-go.

BUT when it comes to the green light for a franchise we all think the Jags, Rams etc would continue their nomadic life but why the hell wouldn't Lewis and his ENIC sport vehicle be thinking of his own NFL franchise? and reaping ALL the rewards that go with it? (London Spurs)

Champions League team and NFL team + brand new world class stadium = $$$$$$$$$$$$££££££££££££$$$$$$$$$$£££££££££££

Don't think it would be best business practice to brand the NFL team as a Spurs entity. Better to have them operate on their own identity.

 

[DublinSpur]

I just hope that the finances of all this don't leave us in a situation where the stability of Tottenham Hotspur FC is dependant upon the success of a London NFL franchise. I may be in the minority on this, but I just don't think - after the initial novelty has worn off - that NFL will be consistently successful outside the USA.

 

[Baleforce]

I just hope that the finances of all this don't leave us in a situation where the stability of Tottenham Hotspur FC is dependant upon the success of a London NFL franchise. I may be in the minority on this, but I just don't think - after the initial novelty has worn off - that NFL will be consistently successful outside the USA.

yeah, it's been 30 years, the bubble
is bound to burst ;-)

 

[mudshark]

I just hope that the finances of all this don't leave us in a situation where the stability of Tottenham Hotspur FC is dependant upon the success of a London NFL franchise. I may be in the minority on this, but I just don't think - after the initial novelty has worn off - that NFL will be consistently successful outside the USA.

I totally agree; it's just another wet dream.

But these dreamers gotta dream their own way.

 

[mephitis]

yeah, it's been 30 years, the bubble
is bound to burst ;-)

It still remains a minority sport in this country. "The bubble" will be it's expansion to anything bigger than this and I agree with DublinSpur the "deflation" of that bubble will come fairly swiftly.

 

[The Fatman]

I can't copy and paste on my tablet, the club has announced that Sir Bill Nics gate are coming down at the end of the season, to be preserved.

 

[parklane1]

yeah, it's been 30 years, the bubble
is bound to burst ;-)

A couple of games a season is one thing, a full season of NFL is another.

 

[Baleforce]

A couple of games a season is one thing, a full season of NFL is another.

absolutely, but I think people perhaps underestimate the popularity, they are already planning 4 games a year, a full season would only be 8 games here, also it sells, every year, $32m in revenue in 2014, how many other minority sports in the UK do so well from 3 days?

 

[Sandman]

the difference is that the 4 games are varied teams. Seeing one possibly crap team play every other week is another thing completely.

I really hope they dont have a london Franchise. Im sure the support will not be there for it. And it would have way more chance being held at Wembley which is a neutral ground to all.

They should just max it up to 8 games with varied teams and keep it at Wembley. That is the best thing for the NFL side of things.

 

[parklane1]

absolutely, but I think people perhaps underestimate the popularity, they are already planning 4 games a year, a full season would only be 8 games here, also it sells, every year, $32m in revenue in 2014, how many other minority sports in the UK do so well from 3 days?

I am not knocking it at all, I am just not sure it will be the hit some suggest.

 

[richardanthonyc]

A uk team would get loads of people who watch NFL coming to london to watch. Hell I can name a dozen people I know in Hull where I live who go to every NFL game in Wembley and it's a small place up here!

 

[Finney Is Back]

the difference is that the 4 games are varied teams. Seeing one possibly crap team play every other week is another thing completely.

I really hope they dont have a london Franchise. Im sure the support will not be there for it. And it would have way more chance being held at Wembley which is a neutral ground to all.

They should just max it up to 8 games with varied teams and keep it at Wembley. That is the best thing for the NFL side of things.

Interesting that you feel you know what is "the best thing for the NFL side of things'.... Do you not think that the NFL will have a slightly better idea based on their analytics and market research?

 

[Sandman]

Interesting that you feel you know what is "the best thing for the NFL side of things'.... Do you not think that the NFL will have a slightly better idea based on their analytics and market research?

LOL its just my opinion. Well I remember what happened with the NFL Europe. It started off with the London Monarchs playing at Wembley. They used to get about 40k average. Then they moved it to WHL and it dropped to 12k, they blamed this a lot on the fact of the tribalism regarding football grounds. Then they though they would move it around the country to different areas before it got canned all together.

so although I hope the NFL guys do know better than me, the past experience makes me think it might be an issue. I would love nothing more than for Spurs to make a bundle of cash out of it. As long as the NFL pre pay anything towards the stadium then so be it as it will not matter.

As a supporter of Spurs and the NFL I want what is best for both. I just dont think anyone will want to watch the London Jags to the level that they are watching the current games in my opinion.

 

[DublinSpur]

Interesting that you feel you know what is "the best thing for the NFL side of things'.... Do you not think that the NFL will have a slightly better idea based on their analytics and market research?

I'm pretty sure the NFL won't be basing their decisions on the opinions of random fans on a Spurs forum. And I'm also pretty sure nobody here thinks they will be. We're just giving our own opinion based on our reading of the situation - nobody here has done any market research that I'm aware of, and nobody claims to have done. We're all just shooting the sh*t here, expressing our views exactly like we're supposed to be doing on a fan forum.

The point is that some of us have a sense that NFL won't work outside the United States on a consistent basis. I'm one of them. I lived in the US for a while and I know exactly how huge NFL is. I'm not saying the game itself can't generate huge interest (and profit). It clearly does. But for a sport to retain that level of support and visibility, it needs to exist within a society that values it. I'm 100% sure that a London franchise will get enough fans to fill a stadium 8 times a year; certainly for the first couple of years, maybe for longer. But the money in sports these days isn't about bums on seats (sadly! if it was, we fans would have much more influence) it's about everything else around it - the PayTV options, the merchandising, the fantasy leagues, the newspapers that get sold on the back of it (which in turn generate massive publicity). The newspapers in the UK (hell, in most of Europe) fill their back pages with what are essentially free ads for football every single day. And millions of people buy those papers for exactly that reason. The idea that NFL can claim even a significant fraction of that space seems unlikely to me.

Just because The London NFLers can fill a stadium occasionally doesn't mean that the UK (or Europe) is ready to provide the kind of market that such a major sport needs these days. Will adverts starring some Quarterback sell as much Pepsi Max as the ones starring Messi anywhere in Europe? Will British schools (outside a few funded by NFL publicity) switch resources from football coaching to American football? And if the kids aren't playing, you lose - in my view - a sense of "ownership" of the sport. It'll always be "American" football... a curiosity that raises interest but no genuine passion.

All of which is just my view. And it wouldn't surprise me if the NFL does try to build a European franchise. It's the obvious route for expansion, I suppose. And I'm well aware that they will spend literally millions on market research rather than base their next move on my gut feeling. That's why I'm not telling them my gut feeling... I'm putting it exactly where it belongs, on a message board designed for football fans to share their gut feelings.

 

[Jordinho]

the difference is that the 4 games are varied teams. Seeing one possibly crap team play every other week is another thing completely.

I really hope they dont have a london Franchise. Im sure the support will not be there for it. And it would have way more chance being held at Wembley which is a neutral ground to all.

They should just max it up to 8 games with varied teams and keep it at Wembley. That is the best thing for the NFL side of things.

Simply adding more games with different teams is probably a very realistic scenario, but having them at Wembley isn't. Their schedule is pretty packed as it is.

 

[paxtonwolf]

I can't copy and paste on my tablet, the club has announced that Sir Bill Nics gate are coming down at the end of the season, to be preserved.

Our famous black gates at the entrance of White Hart Lane - forever linked with our legendary former manager Bill Nicholson after this famous photograph in the 1960s - will be taken down at the end of the season and stored in order to preserve them and avoid any damage as new stadium works progress.
The gates will return and be appropriately included in the new stadium scheme.

Further summer works in and around White Hart Lane are planned during the closed season and we shall provide an update on those ahead of next season.

I like the last bit in particular