One of the most powerful men in sport hints £300m goldmine could come to Tottenham
10/16/2024 12:45 PM
Never one to place a ceiling on Spurs’ commercial ambitions, chairman and co-owner Daniel Levy has continuously attempted to bring the biggest events in the world to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
In four years’ time, Spurs will host matches at Euro 2028.
Who knows how many other artists will have graced the stage at the 62,850-seater stadium before then, with Beyonce, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Lady Gaga among the superstars to have already appeared.
The stadium has also been the go-to London venue for blockbuster heavyweight boxing matches between Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora, as well as Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
Levy has also overseen an unsuccessful effort to stage the 2026 Hockey World Cup final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and a 15-year deal with Formula One has seen a karting track installed at the ground.
Some fans have understandable tired of hearing about Tottenham’s commercial success in recent years.
That is entirely understandable given the North London club’s ongoing silverware drought, which will be into its 17th season if Ange Postecoglou fails to win something this term.
But with the number of non-football event hosted by Spurs set to double thanks to their capture of a new license from Haringey Council, those fans may have to get used to it.
And Spurs’ biggest commercial triumph at the money-printing stadium may still be yet to come.
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Tottenham to host the Super Bowl?
Over the last two weekends, Tottenham have hosted matches at the NFL’s London Games.
More than 120,000 spectators in total descended on N17 to take in the New York Jets vs the Minnesota Vikings and later the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Chicago Bears.
The NFL is the most lucrative sporting competition in the world – and by a massive margin. Spurs have capitalised on that.
They received some funding for the stadium itself from the NFL, as well as a hosting fee of around £8m for each year they stage the London Games.
In the aftermath of this season’s edition of the Games, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell appeared to hint that the competition’s ultimate prize, the Super Bowl, could head outside the US in future years.
Spurs have a closer relationship with the NFL as a whole than any other football club and would surely be the prime candidate to host the Super Bowl if the franchise league chose to go in that direction.
Speaking at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium itself, Goodell was quoted by the Guardian as saying: "We've always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city – that was always sort of a reward for the cities that have NFL franchises. But things change. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that happens one day."
The NFL estimates that the Super Bowl can benefit the host city’s economy to the tune of around £300m.
The prestige and commercial appeal that staging the competition would bring would also enormously attractive to Daniel Levy.
Spurs’ genius stadium strategy: Up next, the Champions League final?
The NFL would have to bend some rules to take the Super Bowl to Tottenham, but the club have been reliably reported to have expressed an interest in hosting the showpiece final before.
There would have to be some allowances made for the stadium’s capacity, which is below the regulation 70,000 usually demanded by the NFL.
But the stadium’s remarkably lucrative corporate hospitality facilities would likely compensate for fewer ticket sales.
That could also give Spurs the edge over Wembley Stadium, which also hosts the London Games.
There may have to be some concessions made in terms of the time difference between the UK and the US too, with a strict curfew in place at the stadium at present.
But the NFL have proven themselves willing to be flexible when it suits their commercial interests.
And with the Champions League final also up for grabs following UEFA’s decision to axe the San Siro as the venue for the 2027 final, Levy will no doubt be seeing pound signs.
