NFL executives visit Tottenham to view new stadium construction site

One of the exciting new aspects of Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium is the ten-year partnership with the National Football League (NFL), which will see American football played in North London as well as in Wembley Stadium. That means the NFL has a vested interest in Spurs' construction plans as well as its progression.

Today, Spurs released a video on their official website that details a visit from NFL Executive Vice President International Mark Waller to the new stadium construction site. Waller was there to check in on how construction was going, and to further emphasize the importance of Spurs’ new stadium not only to the NFL, but to north London. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy reinforced that the partnership with the NFL is beneficial both to the club and to the surrounding area.

Basically we are going into detail about all the various areas [of the stadium] that we are co-sharing, so they are very involved in absolute detail of every aspect of this stadium. It’s very important that they have buy-in to the construction process. They’re really engaged, and now we have regular weekly meetings and we’ve formed this ten-year partnership.

I think it’s incredibly important not just for the club but for the local area because it will create employment, it will create a focal point. We want to become a real leisure destination in London.

This is an area that needs regeneration, and to have that you need to have activity. The more events we can have at our stadium, the more people that come to the area, and the more jobs we will create.

Waller also stated that continuing to expand the reach of the NFL into London is important for the league, and hinted that what Spurs are building is ideal for their purposes.

It’s critical for [the NFL]. We’ve always said that we need to have options in London of where to play our games. The fact is that in this stadium we’re going to have the roll-in roll-out field that will allow us to always have an opportunity to play.

I would hope [the NFL] would be a real value-add to the broader regeneration [of the area] that’s going on. Obviously the club itself will be at the heart of the regeneration but I’d like to think that the NFL and that little slice of America that we bring with us will bring something extra to the area and to the experience.

Interest in American football is growing incredibly fast in England, and Spurs’ new stadium is being constructed with the NFL specifically in mind. It features a state-of-the-art retractable grass pitch that will reveal an NFL-sized artificial turf field underneath, and also includes American football-specific locker rooms and training areas.

The agreement with the NFL means that at least two NFL games will be played at the new White Hart Lane each season for the next 10 years, and the NFL is also exploring the possibility of a new London-based NFL franchise, that could play its home games in Tottenham's stadium.