The Spurs Go Marching In

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club has teamed with AEG to declare an interest in moving to the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 London Games, although the north London team is probably doing no more than keeping its options open.

News of the Spurs registering an interest came a few hours before the club obtained planning permission to build a new £400 million ($632 million) stadium next to its current ground at White Hart Lane.

The decision to compete with rival London soccer club West Ham is likely prompted by the Spurs fearing their plans to build a new ground at Northumberland Park will meet opposition from Transport For London. West Ham has made an Olympic Stadium bid that has the backing of Live Nation Entertainment.

“It is only prudent and good management that we ensure that we investigate all possible options for the club,” explained Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy. “We were informed by the Olympic Park Legacy Committee that were we not to register an interest at this time, there would not be an opportunity at any future date.”

Tottenham MP David Lammy told the Daily Telegraph it seemed “entirely wrong-headed” for the club to be directing efforts to a stadium in the east of the city when there is “a fantastic opportunity” to redevelop much closer to its current home.

“Football clubs belong at the heart of their communities – Tottenham fans would never forgive Spurs if they walk out of White Hart Lane,” he said.

Tottenham has been based at the 36,310-seat White Hart Lane since 1899 but is looking for a bigger stadium to increase revenue.

West Ham’s current ground at Upton Park is 2 miles from the Olympic Stadium, while Tottenham’s ground is more than 5 miles away.

Although Haringey Council approved Spurs’ plans for a new 56,250-capacity ground adjacent to White Hart Lane Sept. 30, the club still needs approval from London Mayor Boris Johnson and the Secretary Of State.

One of the snags is that Transport For London, which is chaired by Johnson, was one of the main opponents to the Spurs’ planning application.

Apart from the planning permission being granted with certain caveats regarding nearby listed buildings – caveats former club chairman Lord Alan Sugar estimates would cost £30 million to address – TFL also wants Spurs to contribute £3 million to upgrade the overground and underground stations at Tottenham Hale. The club doesn’t want to pay more than £2 million.

The Olympic Stadium is situated on a 560-acre (227-hectare) site in a once rundown industrial swath of east London and is part of one of Britain’s biggest renovation projects in decades.

West Ham was the only one of more than 100 potential tenants of the £537 million ($853 million) Olympic Stadium to publicly discuss its plans on by the September 30 deadline.

The Olympic Delivery Authority is now inviting applications from private firms interested in buying the remaining 1,439 homes in the athletes’ village and space to build as many as 2,500 more.

A shortlist of viable bids will be drawn up and invited for detailed discussions early next year. Formal offers and proposals will then be requested, with a final decision scheduled to be made in the summer of the same year.