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Spurs add a hotel to planned stadium

Source: Agencies | April 2, 2009, Thursday | Print Edition

TOTTENHAM Hotspur unveiled revised plans for its new stadium yesterday which now includes a hotel and public spaces built alongside it.

The new ground, to be built almost exactly on the site where White Hart Lane now stands, will have a capacity of 58,000, the club said in a statement.

It will include a dedicated space for community events, such as street markets, performers, an ice rink or educational activities and a second smaller, quieter space.

The development now also includes a hotel, which "will provide a further economic boost for the area," the club said.

The plans will be shown to the public between April 2 and 7.

Club chairman Daniel Levy said: "Too often new stadiums are surrounded by empty, dead space and we did not want that in Tottenham. Instead ... we have embraced the opportunity to create something truly special for local people.

"In respect of the stadium, we have been urging our architects to push the boundaries on technical design aspects in order to create a tighter bowl and an unbeatable match-day atmosphere."

The club also said that spectators would be closer to the pitch than at any other comparable stadium.

Spurs have played at White Hart Lane since 1899, but the new stadium will instead be known by the name of whichever sponsor eventually buys the naming rights.

Viable business

Meanwhile, Southampton's parent company will not be able to continue as a viable business unless it secures financing quickly, the English second division club said yesterday.

Southampton Leisure Holdings Plc, which is listed on London's junior AIM stock market, said trading in its shares would be halted while it talks to a number of parties about an urgent injection of finance. It said unless it secured new funding, it would not be able to continue as a viable business for the next 12 months.

The club, second from bottom of the standings, only survived relegation on the final day of last season and has sold some of its best players, including Theo Walcott to Arsenal and Gareth Bale to Tottenham Hotspur, in recent years.

Southampton moved into its new St Mary's Stadium in 2001, built for 32 million pounds (US$45.90 million), and reached the Cup final again in 2003 as well as finishing eighth in the Premier League.

It was relegated in 2005, ending a 27-year stay in the top flight, and despite reaching the playoffs in 2007, Southampton's fortunes on and off the pitch have continued to wane.


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