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Actions Speak Louder Than Words

“At the moment it is on track to open on time,” says Cullen. “There is nothing to tell us otherwise though I don’t have a crystal ball. If you look at most schemes, naming rights deals tend to come when the stadium is at an advanced stage of construction.

 

“We needed a bigger stadium because our match day revenue is way below that of our competitors. We knew exactly what we had to do to grow the club on a sustainable basis but what we are looking to do is not just build ourselves a new ground. We want to create a new sports and leisure destination in one of the world’s top cities. What is happening on the ground would not be happening now without the football club having taken the decision to stay and invest.”

 

What is happening on the ground includes the building of affordable housing, creating employment specifically for locals and helping neighbourhood businesses, especially those impacted by the ongoing construction. The much-lauded Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, which delivers a range of activities for scores of young people, will be housed in an historic building round the corner from the stadium offering local residents the chance to seek training and employment.

 

“Already, you see, we are moving away from what is the central platform of being a football club,” says Cullen proudly. “It’s very important that we look after those for whom Tottenham has been their home. We even have two community liaison officers walking the streets every day to meet residents so that they can make sure all issues are being dealt with.

 

“It sometimes frustrates me trying to get the message across about how different we are to other clubs and just how extensive what we are doing is. We have paid the local community full respect and have gone beyond what everyone expected us to do. The supporters should be really proud of what we are going to create and we will have done it with the local community on our doorstep. It will be a legacy for all of us.”

 

It’s not just in and around the new stadium that the club are concentrating on improving the surroundings. At the state-of-the-art training ground at Enfield a few miles down the road in a more rural environment, the club is pushing ahead with a nature reserve and eco-lodge for player accommodation. In terms of facilities, the training ground is considered so sophisticated that Brazil will reportedly be using it as part of their preparations for next summer’s World Cup in Russia.