The site of the original White Hart Lane was a neglected nursery owned by a brewery, and
nearby was the White Hart Inn.
Early crowds were 2,500-5,000 and by 1909 Spurs were a Division One club with a stand
designed by Archibald Leitch. Terracing dominated but the stadium at that time was called
the High Road Ground.
Eventually the home of the club became White Hart Lane, named after the nearby White Hart Lane
station which opened in 1872. The station was named after the local road on which it is sited – White Hart Lane.
For many years Tottenham’s ground was overshadowed by that of rivals Arsenal.
North London Rivalry
By the 1920’s Arsenal were beginning to impose their almost total dominance over English
football and Highbury was the most fashionable and modern ground in England. In the
1930’s Arsenal’s East Stand was opened. Highbury became an architectural masterpiece –
the shell of which still exists to this day even with football long gone.
The first set of proper floodlights at White Hart Lane arrived in 1953 for a game against Racing Paris. Well into the club’s glory years of the 1960’s White Hart Lane held up to 60,000. However there were still only
16,000 seats available for fans.
In 1982 a new modern stand was opened and this was the key to the redevelopment of what
had been an ageing structure.
White Hart Lane was, in some ways, like the modern new facility a football estate. White
Hart Lane had a shop, a supporters club HQ and the White Hart Inn.
The White Hart Lane of the 2000’s was a stadium that represented the best of traditional English
football. Close to the pitch supporters virtually hung over the field of play and although long
gone there were still echoes of the Archibald Leitch era even in 2010.
The New Stadium
The new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is more than simply a new stadium for football.
Essentially the stadium is at the centrepiece of a regeneration of one of London’s most
deprived areas – Tottenham.
The project covers the site of the now demolished ground White Hart Lane and immediate
areas adjacent to it.
With rivals Arsenal long established at the new Emirates Stadium, Spurs
announced plans for the new ground in 2008. Construction of the new stadium, beset by disputes and delays, did not commence until 2015 but the Mayor of London gave formal approval to the plans in February 2016. The
Tottenham Stadium subsequently opened in April 2019 with a ceremony before the first
Premier League game held at the stadium.
The stadium opened with a spectacular ceremony on 3rd April 2019 before its first
competitive senior game, the Premier League match against Crystal Palace.
A tight intimate bowl like construction the new stadia is unlike the old ground which was
a mish-mash of four distinct stands built over different periods. While the Stadium is the centerpiece of the area, the South Stand inside the stadium is the designated ‘’Home End’; kop like it is the largest single tier stand in
the UK
With seating for 17,500 fans the south stand is 34.1m high with a 34 degree incline. The
design of the South Stand is influenced by the Yellow Wall of Borussia Dortmund’s
Westfalenstadion although as yet the stand has come nowhere near to bring as colourful as that in Germany.
Capacity: 62,850
Cost: Around £850 million.
Facilities: 878 payment points around the stadium (Cashless).
Media: The South Stand has two big screens measuring 325 metres.
Surface: An American Football Pitch and a sunken artificial surface.
Proximity: Maximum distance from the pitch to the stand measuring 7.9 metres.
You can view some images from Tottenham stadium here