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Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Licence To Stand

The main problem I'd foresee with an NFL link would be the pitch getting fudgeed up which is the last thing we'd want, are there any stadiums in the US that regularly hold NFL games as well as an MLS team? It's an interesting idea

And just to add on to greatwhitenorf above...

New England Patriots (NFL) and New England Rovolution (MLS) share Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, about 20 miles from Boston.

The new MLS team this year, New York City FC (Lampard), are going to play their games in Yankee Stadium (baseball), at least for 2-3 seasons anyway, until they build their own stadium probably adjacent to it.
 
Bet you had one of these when you were a kid:rolleyes:
Damn straight I did!

I was literally about to come in here and say sod it, lets just put a big thunderbird 1 in one corner of the stadium..

I would think so too!

Still quite the engineering challenge I would imagine and something that would have to be planned before building actually starts to be implemented. I doubt the timing will line up correctly for this.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but the architects were KSS? We then changed to Populous? (who apparently have done some NFL stadiums?

The renders/mock ups in the public domain are old KSS ones and there have been no new mock ups for aaagggeeessss? Part of me feels that's because they may have details of NFL compatibility in them which is sensitive business info we don't need our competitors to know?


4 pillars pushing up from each corner flag. Drop down cables from a framework that drop down to varied places on the pitch.

I foresee no way this could go wrong. People are talking about a space elevator for fudges sake, how difficult could a pitch-elevator be... Just get it done Levy!

Framework is a good word for it. I was thinking of a massive iconic X/pyramid shaped tripod which would be the load-bearing bit and also the bit the fans could walk all over. Girders could slide in from the side to 'cradle' the pitch once it's hoisted?

Engineering it is easy. Proving that it's safe is another thing entirely.

I suspect that central support would be key, as mentioned. The way around that is a roof that curves (like a lower case r if you were looking at a cross-section) where the roof supports are telescopic or retract over themselves and slide out under the raised pitch.

Then the problem is an aesthetic one. I'm not an expert in growing living stuff but I don't think it's enough to just have a pitch-sized aperture in your roof, it's probably not big enough to keep the stadium bright or to look after the grass. So you'd end up with a roof that was covered over the outer edges of stands, then a gap, then a solid bit where the pitch had lifted up. You'd also have to play all matches under floodlights as the pitch would be blocking out light.

I suspect it could be done, but I also think it would have to have been planned from the start, not a modified version of an existing scheme.

The pitch would become the roof. It would not be in shade at all... There'd be some kind of skirt attached to the edges of the pitch platform so when it is raised there won't be any leaks into the stadium.

NFL games would be played on an artificial surface under the spotlights, and I don't see a problem with that..?

How long have populous been our architects? I don't think I've seen any mock ups from them? They've had time to plan something ..different.

IF we're going to groundshare with an NFL team I'd expect us to only do so if they sign a contract legally binding them to commit to the project for x years.

Lets say (pulling numbers out of thin air) they paid us £10m a year for ten years of using our stadium. I would be well up for blowing an extra £100m on making our stadium truly unique, iconic, eye catching etc and a Tracy-Island roof would definitely do that. Our stadium sponsor would definitely be up for that. Our world-wide profile would be up for that.


I think it's unlikely that Populous have gone with a pitch-hoisting idea but it sounds incredible. I'm just excited to see what they've got planned for us and I've unexpectedly become pro-NFL sharing if it means loads of cash for us (providing it doesn't ruin the stadium for 'soccer')
 
All the comments from NFL insiders suggest they are 5-10 years from a commitment to a London franchise. They are happy with the progression so far, but don't seem ready for a final decision. Which makes me think they are unlikely to be a partner in the project. We could build it without them and then pitch the idea of the share but I can't see them contributing to the funding.
 
They should implement something right now, doesn't matter that its 5-10 years time for NFL. The problem with stadium gigs and why the O2 is so popular is because one you get wet in.

For the first 10 years then the floor can be a concert floor with the football pitch becoming the roof.. isn't this why Capital Radio have moved there summertime ball or winter balls to the O2 to stop people getting wet at stadium concerts when they are not in the stand seats.
 
For the first 10 years then the floor can be a concert floor with the football pitch becoming the roof..

Love that people are taking the idea semi seriously.. Capacity of New WHL would eclipse the o2 as well.

I know they say 5-10 years for NHL but what would stop the savvy, discerning. franchise owning businessman investing now if that's what he wanted to happen?
 
NFL would be idiots if they're not at least keeping an eye on what we're doing and maybe hold some informal talks.
 
Love that people are taking the idea semi seriously.. Capacity of New WHL would eclipse the o2 as well.

Don't worry, there is a cycle of about 30 pages in this thread, this was discussed previously including raising the pitch up high.. no doubt in 30 pages it will be spoken about again. lol
 
My thought was to sink the football pitch about 8 or 9ft with concert/nfl pitch coming in from under the west and east stands. Also between the levels air conditioning pumped through and those lights (fake sunlight ones) fitted under the concert/nfl level to help keep the football pitch sweet akin to an underground mega cannabis farm.
 
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an NFL franchise is another 8 games, the pitch can cope, the playing surface is way down the priority list, changing room size and media facilities are the important factors
 
Bet you had one of these when you were a kid:rolleyes:

2006AE7838.jpg

Ha Ha. Thunderbirds are GO! Hey. The Mighty badger is a bird too.
 
And just to add on to greatwhitenorf above...

New England Patriots (NFL) and New England Rovolution (MLS) share Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, about 20 miles from Boston.

The new MLS team this year, New York City FC (Lampard), are going to play their games in Yankee Stadium (baseball), at least for 2-3 seasons anyway, until they build their own stadium probably adjacent to it.

Yeah, New England Revolution are SO forgettable. Overlooked that one. Playing on artificial turf. Gridiron lines and logos making everything look a complete dog's dinner for soccer.

At least NYCFCKOFF will have real grass to play on. I read where they had to lay out the pitch in a way that wouldn't disturb the baseball pitcher's mound, so it's pushed away from the main stands a bit so that the mound is off the playing surface. Hard to say how this will all work out. NY is such a baseball first town, there could be a backlash against MLS if it causes issues for Yankees fielders.
 
an NFL franchise is another 8 games, the pitch can cope, the playing surface is way down the priority list, changing room size and media facilities are the important factors

Dual playing surface approach is the best way to go. It's one thing to schedule regular league games that give the pitch proper recovery time after the NFL plays. But we also have to factor in an unknown number of domestic cup contests and European nights with all sorts of variable playing dates. Plus, if an NFL team had a good season, it could have as many as two additional home dates due to hosting playoff games.

Not worth taking shortcuts on. The money is there in abundance to make two surfaces work.
 
Is an NFL pitch narrower?

I ask because everyone wants the stands to be as close to the action as possible and not miles back from the touchlines but in NFL they have a million players and support staff all along the sides of the pitch
 
Is an NFL pitch narrower?

I ask because everyone wants the stands to be as close to the action as possible and not miles back from the touchlines but in NFL they have a million players and support staff all along the sides of the pitch

Yes an NFL pitch is quite significantly narrower.... Take a look at some of the pictures from the Wembley games and you can see this. Also when the Seattle sounders play the fans are close to the pitch, but when the Seahawks play there is a lot of room between the stands and the pitch.

A possible solution would be for an astroturf pitch to be assembled over the top of the WHL turf, however due to all of the players and officials on the sidelines in NFL it would result in the first 4 or 5 rows of seats in the stand on that side pretty useless views when in NFL mode. A feasible solution would be to dig down several metres and have the WHL pitch on hydraulics, it could then be used at it's raised height for football matches and sink down with an astro pitch laid above for NFL, concerts, etc, etc. In NFL mode the astro pitch could operate at a level 2 or 3 metres below the normal level of the football playing surface, thus giving the spectators the right viewing experience even if in the first few rows. The question would be whether the astro pitch could be assembled/disassembled in only 1 day. There is also the question of how the weight of the astro pitch could be supported, but I would imagine it's not beyond the realms of possibility that huge steel supports could be housed under the North and South stands that can slide out to support the weight of the astro pitch.

Far more likely however is that the NFL just continue to use Wembley as it has been pretty successful there.
 
Real Madrid played United in a friendly the summer just gone, at a NFL stadium (might have been a College stadium) and the stands were pretty tight/close to the pitch iirc
 
Damn straight I did!

I was literally about to come in here and say sod it, lets just put a big thunderbird 1 in one corner of the stadium..



Forgive me if I'm wrong but the architects were KSS? We then changed to Populous? (who apparently have done some NFL stadiums?

The renders/mock ups in the public domain are old KSS ones and there have been no new mock ups for aaagggeeessss? Part of me feels that's because they may have details of NFL compatibility in them which is sensitive business info we don't need our competitors to know?




Framework is a good word for it. I was thinking of a massive iconic X/pyramid shaped tripod which would be the load-bearing bit and also the bit the fans could walk all over. Girders could slide in from the side to 'cradle' the pitch once it's hoisted?



The pitch would become the roof. It would not be in shade at all... There'd be some kind of skirt attached to the edges of the pitch platform so when it is raised there won't be any leaks into the stadium.

NFL games would be played on an artificial surface under the spotlights, and I don't see a problem with that..?

How long have populous been our architects? I don't think I've seen any mock ups from them? They've had time to plan something ..different.

IF we're going to groundshare with an NFL team I'd expect us to only do so if they sign a contract legally binding them to commit to the project for x years.

Lets say (pulling numbers out of thin air) they paid us £10m a year for ten years of using our stadium. I would be well up for blowing an extra £100m on making our stadium truly unique, iconic, eye catching etc and a Tracy-Island roof would definitely do that. Our stadium sponsor would definitely be up for that. Our world-wide profile would be up for that.


I think it's unlikely that Populous have gone with a pitch-hoisting idea but it sounds incredible. I'm just excited to see what they've got planned for us and I've unexpectedly become pro-NFL sharing if it means loads of cash for us (providing it doesn't ruin the stadium for 'soccer')

I love you enthusiasm but this is not going to happen. The drainage and under soil heating that modern pitches have would make this a real challenge and that is before you try to get around lifting something very heavy above 60k people without obstructing any views. Even if we were to consider an idea like this, it would likely prove very expensive and it would be ruled out for this reason rather than logistics/engineering.

If we are going to share with another sport the most likely solutions are either putting a temporary artificial surface on top of the pitch or we accept that the playing surface will be damaged.
 
Two pitches side by side, stadium built on tracks and we slide it over so we can use the artificial surface for the NFL games :cool:
 
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