Some interesting stuff from Stevieed on SSC:
By way of background, I had a behind the scenes tour at White Hart Lane and the new stadium this week. I also have a contact which I cannot divulge who has given me reassurances over the build/project/times. I have tried to make very clear below where I have extrapolated ideas from what I've been told and what is exact fact! Also, some information here will duplicate what has been written elsewhere on this thread, but I thought I would consolidate regardless. I will post photos as soon as I can (although they're not great, so don't hold out much hope...)
When are we moving out of White Hart Lane and general build matters
- The club are already starting to strip out White Hart Lane and will remove all non-essential materials/items prior to the United game
- The demolition is currently timetabled for 48 hours after the United game ends
- Expect to see demolition equipment parked at the holding area from just before the United game (this should be our biggest indication as to whether was I was told is correct)
- There is internal debate as to whether they can remove the seats individually to sell to season ticket holders, this is currently considered unlikely as although the club would love to do this it will delay the demolition
- There are currently 700 people working on the site during the week and 300 at weekends
- The build is on schedule, this was confirmed by three separate sources who work in both the office and the build site, including two persons who were at a high level management meeting recently which confirmed the build is on schedule
- I think this has been rebutted already, but there is no way that Levy will open the stadium partially complete. This is his baby and he wants a grand opening, there is absolutely no way he'll allow a single screw to not be fully screwed down, let alone a quarter of the stadium still not complete
- There were concerns about the financing of the stadium, but more so in respect to the cost and not regarding whether we could source financing or not. These have now been resolved (refer The Times article)
- Interestingly no one would divulge any information regarding the build of the roof, not sure if they didn't know anything about it (unlikely) or maybe I'd asked too many questions by that point...
- The player accommodation block at the training ground (do not call it a hotel!!!) is part of the NFL tie up and we will offer it to visiting teams, particularly European teams
- Each screen is the size of a tennis court and will be high definition
Stadium trivia
- The longest bar in a European sports venue (80m) will be in the South Stand atrium; unsure of how this would work properly (I forgot to ask), but assume it bends round into the GA areas of East and West stands
- The brewery will be located in the South stand and the plan is not only to brew a specific craft beer (unfortunately there is already a Hopspur!!) but they will also brew the stadium beer partners beer; i.e. if Heineken are the official beer supplier then Heineken will be brewed on site and under license
- They are doing some very cool things with local suppliers, such as the left over produce from the brewing is going to a local farm, to be used as pig food, who will then supply us with meat (largely pigs)
- The Skywalk looks amazing! The current plan is that you will be harnessed in, much like the O2 dome walk. You can walk over the South Stand roof and look down at the pitch through the clear parts of the roof. There are also plans for you to then abseil down the South stand into the public square
- There are currently investigating whether to install a Spider Cam or not, however this is likely to be only for NFL games and will be removed for football games
- The on-site bakery will only supply baked goods for the corporate areas, other food will be brought in
- The grass pitch can be stored for up to 5 days as it will be fully serviced with water, air ventilation and grow lights. They've done this so that they can host concerts over the weekends
- They are expecting up to 15 non-football events per year; no-one I spoke to knew whether this was non "soccer" or non-football including NFL
- The naming partner is not yet known at any level in the club, so all rumours of who it will be are purely conjecture at this point
- The main TV gantry is in the East stand, at the front of the upper tier, with a further TV gantry in the West stand alongside the commentary boxes. Naturally there will be further camera spots around the stadium and this was a key consideration given the NFL involvement
- There's a mock up of the GA toilets which I haven't seen, although a friend has, and his comment was "nicest toilets I've ever seen in a sporting venue". There is also a mock up of a food outlet which looks very stylish (think I photo has been circulated on here previously)
- The shop will feature a scanning system via an app on your phone, whereby you scan the items as you walk around the store and automatically pay as you exit; a similar idea to the Waitrose system
- Anyone can access the home atrium in the South stand with a home ticket
- There is a shortlist of hotel partners for the 4/5* hotel, most likely a large US brand such as Hilton or Marriott
- Family section has not been locked down, but is likely to be in the north stand upper, although there are concerns of locating families close to the away fans
- The hard hat tour area which will be opened up shortly is just a viewing platform in the north stand 4th floor, the views are great but you can't really see into the internals of the stadium
The H Club
- Will attempt to obtain Michelin star for the food
- Partnering with Roux family
- £15k joining fee and £15k annual cost; tickets must be purchased in pairs and as for all corporate tickets a minimum period of 3 years must be signed up for and tickets must be purchased in pairs
- Somelier and cheese waiter will be on hand to assist
- Other celebrity chefs will be brought in to cook for guests, they are really trying to make this the premium lounge offering at any sporting stadium in Europe
- There are 3 dining options; informal, fine dining and chefs table
The Tunnel Club
- Club did not expect such high demand, 90% of the 104 tickets have already been sold
- £15k joining fee and £9.5k per season
- Seats will be the same as what the players/manager sit in, will be heated recaros with USB jacks
- This has been contentious with the players as they really do not want to be watched in the tunnel...
The Sky Lounge
- Exactly mirrored West and East stands, although you may not transfer between the stands
- You will not be able to stay in the lounge during the match and electronic blinds will cover the windows during each half to ensure that we comply with FA regulations
- The roof of the Sky Lounge is the roof of the stadium and looks amazing
- 260 people will be in each lounge
- Tapas style food will be offered
Premium Seats
- Marketed as a Club Wembley and Arsenal Club level style package, but more premium
- Concourses look great and they're trying to break them up into individual seating areas, bar areas and eating areas
- Huge range of food will be available for purchase, from a free finger food buffet up to fine dining options
- Get a free drink at half time, much like Arsenal Club seats
- Not enough seating for everyone in here
- Consists of approximately 6,000 out of the 8,000 hospitality seats in the stadium
General hospitality
- Although the tickets are selling well the sales people have been under a lot of pressure given that this is a key financing area of the build; I think there were c. 2.5k corporate seats at WHL, so to increase that to 8k is a huge undertaking
- DL wants the entire stadium to be of a corporate hospitality level, the fit and finish will be exceptional throughout
- You may arrive up to 3 hours before the game and leave up to 2 hours post game
- The club are trying to get all visitors to arrive at the ground significantly prior to kick off, this is to both boost stadium income and remove the stain on public transport. Expect various activities etc throughout the GA areas
- There will be a VIP shuttle bus from Alexandra Palace and Tottenham Hale bus stations for corporate hospitality ticket holders; these buses may use the bus lanes. There may also be an option of parking at the training ground and getting a bus in, although I highly doubt this is practical
- You may get priority seat allocation for certain non-football events, but this depends on the partners specific to each event
