Tottenham submit application to expand training ground

COVID-19 apparently hasn’t stopped Tottenham Hotspur from its long-term planning. Today, writing for football.london, Alasdair Gold reported that the club has submitted a planning application to Enfield Council for a series of additions and improvements to its Hotspur Way Training Centre.

The applications are designed for a new extension to the academy building that would provide Spurs Women a dedicated place to train, as well as expand the developmental needs of Tottenham’s youth system. The expansion would also provide a bigger gym that will allow multiple teams to train, as well as a rehabilitation gym and improved facilities for sports science and physiotherapy.

The applications also include a proposal for a new building extension for media and “visual content creation” that will consolidate the department into one area and will also free up additional space for Spurs Women’s staff.

Spurs Women notably did not train at Hotspur Way on a full time basis until this year, and not until Alex Morgan, on loan at the time from Orlando Pride, started throwing her considerable clout around to make it happen. That the current facilities were apparently designed without any thought to the women’s team is a little bit damning, but also not entirely surprising considering the facility is nine years old now and at the time it opened Spurs Women had just promoted to the third tier of women’s football. These changes are welcome ones, even if they’ve come much later than most people would’ve hoped.

If you’re wondering where the money is going to come from, it’s a good question! This appears to be more of a planning move that is looking to the future — in the event that football is allowed to have full or mostly full crowds next season, Tottenham is one of the clubs that is most likely to bounce back from the impact of COVID-19.

The Enfield Council will let the club know of the results of their applications by June 22.