The public space and south-west corner of the proposed stadium at White Hart Lane.

Spurs may strike White Hart Lane deal ‘within a month’ as Olympic fight ends

By Stephen Moore Thursday, October 20, 2011
6:00 AM

Tottenham Hotspur may finally strike a deal to stay in White Hart Lane “within the next month” after dropping their High Court fight over the Olympic Stadium.

Tottenham MP David Lammy delivering school pupils' petitions to Spurs earlier this year. Picture: Tony Gay.

The club had been readying itself for a lengthy, expensive judicial review of the process that led to bid rivals West Ham Utd being awarded the stadium in Stratford after next year’s Games, but agreed on Monday to halt its challenge.

The development comes just days after the deal between the Hammers and Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) collapsed, with legal wrangles being blamed for “bogging down” the sale.

With Spurs’ legal challenge suddenly academic, and promises from Mayor of London Boris Johnson that the Stratford stadium’s running track will remain whoever takes on the ground, Spurs’ future looks increasingly certain to be in Tottenham.

David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, said: “The judicial review has been like a Damacles sword hanging over Tottenham, and I have campaigned for the last 18 months almost to try to prevent this happening.

“Obviously I think that the feeling firstly is one of relief that this episode has come to an end and we can get on with concentrating on Plan A, the business of renewing White Hart Lane.”

He said Spurs remained “a very important component” of the “serious, massive regeneration” needed in Tottenham - and revealed “one of London’s technical unversities” may be in line to relocate there as part of the club’s regeneration of the surrounding areas. Plans already agreed by Haringey Council include a hotel, supermarket and flats alongside a new 56,000-seater stadium.

Mr Lammy said he was “determined” to move negotiations along as quickly as possible “because I don’t think you begin to get confidence back until you start to see cranes go up and buildings go up”.

A spokesman for the club said “discussions are ongoing, but they are certainly progressing well and are constructive,” while another source told the Journal a deal may be struck “within the next month”.

Haringey Council Leader, Cllr Claire Kober, said the authority’s “support remains,” adding: “We will continue to work hard in partnership with Spurs to help them deliver the Northumberland Development Project, bringing the best possible facilities to a great club based in a great place with a community that really wants them to stay.”

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4 comments

Not in the net yet, but . . . a very good piece of news, and not just for Spurs but for the entire community of North London. To have a fan base like Tottenham's and such fantastic support from the local authorities must be a huge fillip for the club. Agree with Andrew Woods below - nice manoeuvre, good positioning, excellent shot.

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JCW

Thursday, October 20, 2011
This is good news indeed for all the spurs fans that do not live that close to tottenham it means that we will have a better chance to get tickets for matches gez

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gez

Thursday, October 20, 2011
This is great news, I just hope that no one falls for Lammy's inevitable claims to having kept the club in Tottenham. He did nothing to help the situation until Levy saw the opportunity in Stratford and has been playing catch up ever since. Fortunately the OPLC didn't accept our bid and Levy's played the game perfectly to minimise the Public reliance on the club to support the area. It will be a tough few years paying off the debt but the long term future of the club is safe thanks to our chairman. He's made some mistakes but overall he's taken us to a whole new level.

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Andrew Woods

Thursday, October 20, 2011
Very pleased to hear the good news.Something very exciting & a step in the right direction. "Keep up the good work" - to all those responsible.This partnership, between business & govt. would definately uplift your community

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Roy

Thursday, October 20, 2011