Sources: Tottenham plotting to host Champions League final
Tottenham want to host the Champions League final after 2026, sources have told Football Insider.
The North Londoners are also open to staging the Europa League final, but chairman and co-owner Daniel Levy sees UEFA’s top club competition as the ultimate prize.
European football’s governing body announced in 2019 that the 2023, 2024 and 2025 finals will be hosted at Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium, London’s Wembley Stadium and Munich’s Allianz Arena respectively.
Spurs are not eyeing a bid to host the event in 2026 as they recognise that UEFA are unlikely to take the showpiece clash to London so soon after Wembley hosts the 2024 final.
But a sponsorship broker has told Football Insider that Spurs hope that their interest in hosting a future final will strengthen their hand when it comes to negotiating a stadium naming rights deal.
The club want to announce a deal for their 62,850-seater stadium before the turn of the year, but any arrangement is likely to involve a clause which would entail a windfall if they stage an event of such magnitude.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium meets the minimum capacity threshold of 60,000 and its ample corporate facilities will no doubt be attractive to UEFA executives.
Spurs would receive a flat hosting fee and be entitled to keep revenue generated from catering sales on the day.
The club makes upwards of £800,000 per home match from food and drink sales alone, and that figure is likely to top £1million for an illustrious event like the Champions League final.
But it is the prestige that comes with hosting one of the biggest fixtures in sport that is the real draw for Spurs.
The stadium regularly hosts NFL games as well as heavyweight boxing clashes, and it is also in the running to host the 2026 Hockey World Cup final.
In other news, Tottenham plotting to sign Wilfried Zaha after multiple offers submitted.