Sources: Tottenham lining up ‘surprise’ pitch upgrade amid £20m-plus reveal
Tottenham are already seeking upgrades to the retractable pitch that set them back £20-30million during the construction of their industry-leading stadium, sources have told Football Insider.
The 62,850-seater multi-purpose arena opened in April 2019 and cost approximately £1billion all told.
Sources with knowledge of the construction project have revealed that between “two and three per cent” of that total figure went towards the retractable pitch.
The pitch currently splits into three 3000-tonne sections before sliding back to reveal the artificial field used in lucrative NFL games like the clash between the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers last Sunday (9 October).
The mechanical retraction of the football playing surface lasts just 25 minutes, but it takes up to 48 hours to get the pitch match-ready for American football.
The Daily Mail reported last Friday (7 September) that Spurs are now exploring multi-million-pound technological improvements to expedite the process.
Sources close to SCX, the Sheffield-based mechanical engineering specialists who installed the pitch three years ago, told this site that the firm is “surprised” that Spurs are seeking upgrades to what remains a cutting-edge facility.
An elite-level football playing surface alone costs around £300,000, while a full installation including drainage system can easily run into the millions.
Those figures rise dramatically when the pitch is required to switch out for a different surface entirely.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has propelled the Lillywhites into the stratosphere as far as matchday income is concerned, but it is still without a money-spinning naming rights deal.
However, The Athletic reported on Monday (10 October) that Spurs are in talks with tech giants Google about a potential mega-money sponsorship agreement.
In other news, Tottenham expert blown away by “absolute unit” Will Lankshear as “exciting” prediction made.