Tottenham reveal ambition to host Super Bowl at new stadium

Tottenham Hotspur have ambitions to host the Super Bowl at their new stadium.

The north London club throw open the doors of their new ground to the public this weekend to host their first match – an Under-18s game against Southampton – and Spurs have big ambitions for the 62,062-seat arena.

The ground is purpose-built to host NFL games – it will have a retractable synthetic pitch with the league’s logo stitched in, along with dressing rooms large and equipped enough to accommodate the massive squads that American football teams deem necessary.

And Tottenham’s Head of Business Development Aidan Mullally hopes that one day not only could the stadium host the season finale, one of the most-watched annual sporting events on the planet, but also become home to a London-based franchise

‘One purpose in mind’

On hosting the Super Bowl, Mullally said: “It is unbelievably complicated – both the Super Bowl and a franchise – but this stadium is designed with one purpose in mind, which is to deliver unbelievably good quality events, so we don’t want our venue holding back on any decision. It is probably the most sought-after event in the world.”

The logistics of holding the Super Bowl may hamper Tottenham’s ambitions – not least the kick-off time. This year’s match between the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots kicked off at 11.30pm on a Sunday night.

The NFL’s London games have been held at Wembley and Twickenham until now, but Tottenham hope to go into partnership with the American league and be the go-to ground for travelling sides.

‘It is an NFL stadium’

Mullally added: “It is an NFL stadium and that’s the key message. From the very start during the design phase, we have had the NFL in mind. The anchor tenant is Tottenham Hotspur, but this is designed to be a permanent home for the NFL outside the US. The NFL has been involved in the design process from the get-go.”

Sunday’s test event will be in front of a crowd of around 30,000 people. The club need at least 25,000 people to arrive at the stadium for it to pass safety tests.

A further test game will follow next week and will involve a “legends” team featuring Jürgen Klinsmann against a similarly storied Inter Milan side.

If both test events pass without a hitch, the first Premier League match will take place on 3 April against Crystal Palace.

‘We have to win something’

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris expressed his hope that the team’s performance and ambitions can match the stature of the ground – named the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for now, pending a sponsor paying for naming rights.

Lloris said: “We’re going to have one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, and that’s great, but we have to accompany that progression: I think it will be very difficult to take a step up without recruiting. We all now need to feel the ambition of the club at every level. I love the club; I love the people here.

“Winning something here would have a sense. I can see the difference between the state of the club when I arrived and today.

“We manage to be very competitive with a completely different philosophy to our rivals. To give us even more credit, we have to win something.”