UK Stadiums: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, North London
Andy Greeves
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (capacity 62,850) set a new benchmark in global stadium design when it opened back in April 2019. It is one of the largest and most modern football stadiums in the UK.
Built on the site of Tottenham Hotspur's former White Hart Lane ground (and areas adjacent to it), the multi-purpose stadium has a host of unique features and innovations. This includes the world's first dividing, retractable grass football pitch, an on-site microbrewery and both the longest bar and biggest club shop in Europe. As well as being a four-star UEFA-category football stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is also the first purpose-built home for the NFL outside of the United States, with an NFL pitch accommodated underneath the retractable football pitch along with dedicated locker rooms.
The stadium is home to the largest single-tier stand in the United Kingdom, with the South Stand holding over 17,500 fans. It is angled at 35 degrees - the steepest recommended in UK guidelines - to create a feeling of being close to the pitch. Architects Populous also worked with U2's sound engineers to optimise the stadium's matchday atmosphere.
The stadium is licenced to host 16 non-football events a year, with a minimum of two NFL games taking place there each year. Since opening, there have also been numerous concerts boxing bouts and rugby matches (both league and union) to have taken place at the north London venue.
Stands
Within its bowl-like structure, the North, East and West Stands at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium all have three main tiers of seating while the aforementioned South Stand is a single-tier design. Based on the names of the stands at the former White Hart Lane, some Spurs fans call the East Stand the 'Shelf Side' and the South Stand the 'Park Lane'.
Away fans are usually accommodated in the north-east corner of the ground.
History
For years prior to the opening of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs had explored various options with regards to the expansion of White Hart Lane, the construction of a new stadium on the site and even relocation away from N17.
In 2008, the club unveiled plans for the 'Northumberland Development Project', which included the construction of a new stadium, club museum, homes, shops and other facilities on the footprint of the White Hart Lane site plus surrounding areas.
However, it wasn't until January 2012 that Tottenham Hotspur committed to the building of a new stadium in Tottenham itself. That was after it was revealed the club's bid to become tenants of the London Stadium in Stratford - now home to West Ham United - had failed.
Initial works on the Northumberland Development Project began in September 2012, although it wasn't until 2015 that building work on the new stadium commenced. The north east corner at White Hart Lane was demolished prior to Spurs' final season at their 118-year-old home in 2016/17 to accommodate building of the new ground. In their finale campaign, Spurs went unbeaten at White Hart Lane for an entire season.
To allow the construction of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to be completed, Spurs played their 'home' matches at Wembley Stadium during the 2017/18 Premier League season. They were due to return to N17 for the start of the 2018/19 campaign, but remained at Wembley until March 2019 due to construction delays. They finally played their first Premier League match at their new stadium against Crystal Palace on 3 April 2019.
The cost of the Northumberland Development Project has already exceeded £1 billion with Tottenham Hotspur planning to open a 29-storey, 180-room hotel and a club museum in the future.
Spurs
Founded in September 1882 by members of Hotspur Cricket Club - who were pupils of St John's and Tottenham Grammar schools - Tottenham Hotspur (nicknamed 'The Lilywhites') were originally known as 'Hotspur Football Club'. The club's first known match was played against a side called Radicals on 30 September 1882.
In 1901, Spurs became the first and only non-league club ever to win the FA Cup - a trophy they have won eight times to date.
Bill Nicholson
The wrought-iron gates that stood in front of the old White Hart Lane can now be found close to the main ticket office at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The gates are synonymous with the club's greatest manager, Bill Nicholson, due to an iconic photograph of 'Bill Nic' by Peter Robinson that shows him stood in front of them. The gates are therefore often referred to as the 'Bill Nicholson Gates'.
Nicholson was key member of Tottenham's squad that won the old First Division (now Premier League) title for the first time in 1950-51 and guided the club to both the Football League title and the FA Cup as manager in 1960-61. That season, Spurs became the first English club to do the 'double' in the 20th century.
Under Nicholson's management, Spurs also won the FA Cup in 1962 and 1967 and the Football League Cup (Carabao Cup) in 1971 and 1973. In May 1963, the Lilywhites became the first English club to win a European trophy, when they beat Atletico Madrid 5-1 in the European Cup Winners' Cup Final in Rotterdam. Spurs were also the first winners of the UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League) with 'Bill Nic' at the helm. They beat fellow English club Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on aggregate in the final.
Harry Kane
Situated on Whitehall Street (N17 8AG), just opposite the main entrance to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, is a mural dedicated to Spurs' all-time, record goalscorer - Harry Kane.
Kane was born in Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone on 28 July 1993 and was raised close to Tottenham in Walthamstow and Chingford. Rising through the academy ranks at Spurs - and in the midst of loan spells with Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City - Kane made his first appearance for the Lilywhites in a UEFA Europa League match against Heart of Midlothian in August 2011.
He made his first Premier League start for the club against Sunderland in April 2014 meanwhile, scoring in a 5-1 win. It was in 2014-15 that he truly announced himself to the football world though as he scored 31 times in 51 matches, which included 21 strikes in 34 Premier League appearances. He was named the PFA's Young Player of the Year at the end of the campaign, while he scored just 80 seconds after coming on as a substitute for Wayne Rooney on his England debut against Lithuania on 27 March 2015 in a 4-0 win.
Leading the line for Spurs up until a move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, Kane became Tottenham Hotspur's all-time, top goalscorer with his winning strike in a 1-0 triumph over Manchester City in February 2023 which was his 267th Spurs goal. By the time he departed for Bayern, Kane had scored a total of 280 goals in 435 matches for Spurs. Following him on the club's all-time record list are Jimmy Greaves (266 goals), Bobby Smith (208 goals), Martin Chivers (174 goals), and Son Heung-min (173 goals).
Ledley King and Heung-Min Son
There are also murals dedicated to fellow Spurs legends Ledley King and Heung Min-Son situated close to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Making 323 appearances for the Lilywhites between 1999 and 2012, Ledley King was one of the finest defenders of his generation. But for chronic injury problems, that eventually forced his premature retirement at the age of 31, he would have surely played many more matches for club and country. King's mural can be found at the Tottenham Community Sports Centre at 701-703 High Road (N17 8AD).
Slightly further north on Tottenham High Road, Heung-Min Son's mural can be found on the side of the 3 Points Cafe at 804A High Road (N17 0DH).
During his 10 seasons as a Spurs player between 2012 and 2023, 'Sonny' netted 173 times in 454 appearances in all competitions. Winner of the FIFA Puskás Award in 2020 for a stunning solo goal scored in a Premier League victory over Burnley, the South Korean was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in 2020-21 and won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2021-22.
Honours
First Division/Premier Titles (2) in 1950-51 and 1960-61.
FA Cups (8) in 1900-01, 1920-21, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1966-67, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1990-91
League Cups (4) in 1971, 1973, 1999 and 2008
UEFA Cup/Europa League (3) in 1972, 1984 and 2025
European Cup Winners' Cup (1) in 1963
Spurs were UEFA Champions League finalists in 2019, losing 2-0 to Liverpool in the showpiece match in Madrid.
Fun Facts
- Ricky Villa's winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1981 FA Cup Final replay was named as the 'original' Wembley Stadium's 'Goal of the Century' in 2001.
- A 4.5-metre-tall golden cockerel statue can be found on the roof of the South Stand at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The cockerel is a scaled-up version of the original that first appeared at White Hart Lane in 1909. It maintains every scratch and bump carried by the original, including a dent supposedly caused by club legend, Paul Gascoigne.
- Tottenham Hotspur Stadium uses a unique 'bottoms up' draft beer system that fills a cup from the base rather than the top. It relies on specially designed cups with a hole in the bottom that is sealed by a reusable magnet and fills the cup in approximately 10 seconds.
- Tottenham Hotspur have two mascots, cockerels Chirpy and Lily.
- The character Gavin Shipman in the BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey is a Spurs supporter and can be seen wearing the club's shirt in a number of episodes. The actor Mathew Horne, who plays 'Gavin', is a real-life Spurs fan too.
- Other celebrity fans include musicians Adele and AJ Tracey, actors Tom Holland, Jude Law, and Rupert Grint, politician Iain Duncan Smith and television personalities Michael McIntyre and Sir Trevor McDonald.
Arsenal Rivalry
Spurs' rivarly with Arsenal dates back to 1913, when the Gunners moved from their home in Woolwich, south London to Highbury in north London - just over four miles away from White Hart Lane.
Arsenal's election to the top flight of English football at the expense of Spurs in 1919 - despite the fact Spurs had been in First Division in 1914-15 prior to the outbreak of World War I, while Arsenal came just fifth in the Second Division that season - heightened the ill-feeling between the two clubs.
Sol Campbell's decision to move from Spurs to Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer of 2001 was a jaw-dropping moment in the history of the rivalry and a move no Tottenham fan will ever forgive their former club captain for.
The have been painful north London derby moments for Spurs fans on the pitch too. Arsenal twice won the league at White Hart Lane in 1971 and 2004. But Lilywhites supporters can point to some notable victories of their own against the 'old enemy', including a Paul Gascoigne-inspired FA Cup semi-final win over the Gunners at Wembley in 1991.
Club Legends & Cult Heroes
The aforementioned Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are the standout names to have played for Spurs during their time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium so far with honourable mentions also going to the likes of Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and World Cup winner, Hugo Lloris.
And in terms of a cult hero from the last seven years, look no further than Lucas Moura, who scored a hat-trick in Tottenham's 3-2 victory over Ajax in Amsterdam in May 2019 to send them to that year's UEFA Champions League Final.
During Harry Redknapp's tenure as Spurs manager between 2008 and 2012, he could call on the services of the inspirational Gareth Bale and Luka Modrić - both of whom went on to win countless trophies with Real Madrid.
Spurs have a tradition for playing exciting, attacking football and flair players such as Ossie Ardiles, Chris Waddle, Glenn Hoddle, David Ginola and Jürgen Klinsmann were certainly worth paying the admission money alone to see at the old White Hart Lane!
Bill Nicholson's double-winning team of 1960-61, with iconic players such as Danny Blanchflower, Dave Mackay, Cliff Jones and John White, rank as one of the best XIs in English club football history. And there has to be a mention of the club's former top goalscorer, Jimmy Greaves, who netted 266 times in 379 appearances for Spurs between 1961 and 1970. Greaves is the highest goalscorer in the history of English top-flight football with 357 goals.
Museum & Stadium Tours
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tours allow visitors to see behind the scenes at one of European football's most modern and innovative arenas, with access to the changing rooms, players' tunnel, dugouts, pitch side and VIP areas of the ground. You can save 15% by booking in advance while kids going free with a paying adult.
In addition to Stadium Tours, there are a number of other attractions at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 'The Dare Skywalk' allows you to ascend 46.8 metres onto the roof of stadium, offering incredible views over the pitch and out of over London. Underneath the South Stand meanwhile, you can find 'F1 Drive London' - an F1-inspired karting experience which offers half a kilometre of tight and technical chicanes.
Access - Getting To Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Limited, paid, matchday parking can be found on White Hart Lane (including Goods Yard - N17 8EY), Wilbury Way (N18 1DE) and Brettenham Road (N18 2ES). You should pre-book online.
Seven Sisters on the Victoria Line is around a 30-minute walk to the ground while White Hart Lane on the Weaver Line of the London Overground is just five minutes away.
Tottenham Hale (Victoria Line & West Anglia Main Line), Northumberland Park (West Anglia Main Line) and Bruce Grove (Weaver Line) are also within walking distance of the ground.
Address: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 782 High Road, London, N17 0BX
Accessibility
(Information from tottenhamhotspur.com)
The entire stadium perimeter is made accessible by five lifts that can transport supporters from street level (Level 0), to podium level (Level 1).
The Stadium has four dedicated accessible entrances for home fans (Entrances 1, 5, 13 and 17) and one accessible entrance for away fans (entrance 11a). All entrances are served by multiple lifts transporting supporters to the viewing areas. Access to the following is provided at these entrances;
- Audio commentary headsets
- Wheelchairs
- Headphones
- Induction loops
- Dog bowls
Nearby Hotels
Recommended places to stay in north London include the Best Western London Highbury and also the Queens Hotel. See a listing of hotels near Finsbury Park.
Close to Russell Square and the British Museum there is a cluster of hotels from five-star to more budget options. Kimpton Fitzroy London By IHG is the luxury standout. Russell Square is on the Piccadilly Line just one stop from King's Cross.
See here for a complete listing of hotel accommodation in London.
More UK Stadiums
Kirklees Stadium (John Smith's Stadium)
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