The Northumberland Development Project is a mixed-use development project that centres around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. On opening in April 2019, the stadium had a capacity for 62,062 spectators, later increased to 62,303, and was designed to host football as well as NFL games. The development plans also include 585 new homes, a 180-room hotel, a local community health centre, the Tottenham Experience, a Spurs museum and club shop, an extreme sports facility, as well as the Lilywhite House, which contains a Sainsbury's supermarket, a sixth form college and the club's headquarters. Plans for the project were first announced in 2008 and a planning application submitted in 2009. The project however was revised several times and delayed due to objections by conservation groups and a protracted dispute over a compulsory purchase order (CPO) on existing businesses at the proposed development site. A revised plan was first approved in 2010 by the Haringey Council, and following further revisions, building started in September 2012. Only part of this initial plan was executed, and the construction of the stadium did not commence until 2016 after the CPO dispute has been resolved and a new design approved by Haringey Council. The stadium opening date was revised several times but eventually opened during the 2018–19 season on 3 April 2019. The new stadium also serves as a venue for at least two of the National Football League (NFL)'s London Games each season. The NFL invested £10 million ($12.8m) in Tottenham's new stadium, just over 1% of the budget. The stadium features the world's first dividing retractable pitch, and it is the first stadium in the UK to have two pitches inside: a retractable grass pitch for football, and a synthetic surface underneath for NFL games and other events. The project is estimated to cost around £1 billion and is intended to be a catalyst for a wider regeneration scheme in Tottenham.
Origin
Beginning in the 1980s, the Tottenham home ground White Hart Lane was redeveloped, and in order to comply with the recommendation of the Taylor Report, it was turned into an all-seater stadium. The capacity of the stadium was reduced from 50,000 in 1979 to around 36,000 by the time it was completed in 1998. The capacity was by then lower than other major English clubs with many of these clubs also planning to expand further, and Tottenham began to explore ways of increasing the stadium capacity so that it could better compete financially with other clubs. Various options were considered over a number of years. In 2000, the club under Alan Sugar submitted a plan to rebuild the East Stand as a three-tier structure to increase the ground capacity to 44,000. As the stadium was hemmed in by other buildings and conservation areas that limited expansion, the club in 2001 (by then owned by ENIC) also considered moving to a proposed new stadium in Picketts Lock planned to be used for the 2005 World Athletics Championships. The Picketts Lock plan however fell through when the government decided that it was too expensive and scrapped the plan, while the East Stand plan was also shelved in 2004 due to concerns over transport infrastructure and council objections. Other suggestions were mooted, including ground-share with rival Arsenal, and buying Wembley Stadium. In 2007, the club announced that it was considering redevelopment of the current site or a move to a new site, although no firm decision on the preferred option was made. While the various proposals were being considered, the club also bought up properties around White Hart Lane when they became available. In April 2008 it was revealed in the press that investigations were taking place into the possible use of the Wingate industrial estate immediately adjacent to the north of White Hart Lane. If planning permission were to be granted and there was agreement of the existing businesses there, a 55–60,000-seat stadium could be constructed on the White Hart Lane site. This proposal would become the Northumberland Development Project. In 2010, so as to keep all options open, the club also registered an interest in using the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Olympics. Tottenham proposed that the stadium be demolished, and a new 60,000-capacity football stadium without a running track be built in its place, at the same time offering to redevelop the stadium at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre as an athletics stadium. However, the government indicated that the running track should be retained at the Olympic Stadium, and the bid was won by West Ham United in 2011 as it was committed to keeping the track. After its attempts to overturn the Olympic Park Legacy Company's decision failed, the club abandoned the Olympic Stadium bid in October 2011. It focused its attention on the Northumberland Development Project, and announced its commitment to the building of a new stadium in Tottenham in January 2012.
Planning history
First plans
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