Spurs' new stadium to open in August 2018 with Dortmund-style "kop" stand

Recently, members of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust (THST) met with representatives of the Tottenham Hotspur board, including club Chairman Daniel Levy. Today, the THST released minutes from that meeting on their official website, which revealed some interesting information about the club, its current plan of operations, as well as some enticing tidbits surrounding the construction of Tottenham's new stadium.

According to the minutes, the new stadium has a very tentative opening date of August, 2018, assuming there are no additional significant delays. However, the club emphasized that firm dates are impossible to confirm at this time due to the large scope of the project. With the situation now resolved between the club and Archway Sheet Metal, it is assumed that the project is now "full steam ahead" for construction once Spurs take over possession of their land in June.

As for what the club plans to do while construction takes place, the "move-out date" for Spurs is expected to be May, 2017. This means Spurs will play two more seasons at White Hart Lane before vacating for a ground-share for the 2017-18 season.

Regarding the ground-share season, the club had initially identified four possible options for Spurs' home: Upton Park, the Olympic Stadium, Wembley Stadium, and MK Dons' stadium:mk. Of those four, the only two viable options at this point are Wembley and stadium:mk. Spurs did not confirm any details as to where Spurs may end up for that season, calling it "a work in progress,' but did warn that it may come down to only one viable option in the end.

Design-wise, the new stadium is presently expected to seat 56,000 fans, which is the capacity it was granted to build by the planning commission. The stadium will maintain the single-tier "kop" style stand, similar to the "yellow wall" in  Dortmund's stadium, and one of the features announced early in the stadium design process. In addition, after questions from THST, the club noted that it is open to the possibility of implementing "safe standing" areas, pending changing legislation in that regard, as well as a "singing section."

This news comes on the heels of the club's recent announcement that they will appeal to the planning board to amend their plans to include a basement parking level.

The issue of naming rights was also broached, but the club noted that nothing is in place at this stage, and that issues of this nature "really only becomes a sensible conversation for sponsoring organisations once the construction has started."

Other issues discussed by the THST included the ongoing regeneration of Haringey Borough via the NDP, ticketing issues, the club philosophy behind player development and recruitment, and the possibility of an eventual testimonial for former Spurs captain Michael Dawson.

The THST is the only formally-recognized Spurs supporters' organization, and regularly meets with the Spurs board to maintain an open dialogue between Spurs fans and the club, and to discuss issues that are important to Tottenham supporters. The last THST meeting with the board took place in November, 2014.