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White Hart Lane

Coordinates: 51°36′12″N 0°03′57″W / 51.60333°N 0.06583°W / 51.60333; -0.06583
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Shite Hart Lane
"The Shite"

Shite Hart Lane – View From North Stand
Map
Full nameShite Harte Lane
LocationBill Nicholson Way, 748 High Road Tottenham N17 0AP
Coordinates51°36′12″N 0°03′57″W / 51.60333°N 0.06583°W / 51.60333; -0.06583
OwnerTottenham Hotspur F.C.
OperatorTottenham Hotspur F.C.
Capacity36,310 [1]
Field size100 x 67 m
(110 x 73 yd)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built1899
Opened4 September 1899
Construction cost£100,500 (1934)
ArchitectArchibald Leitch (1909)
Tenants
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (1899–present)
London Monarchs (NFLE) (1995–1996)[citation needed]

White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,310.

Along with housing Tottenham, the stadium has also been selected for England national football matches and England under-21 football matches. White Hart Lane held capacity records in the early 1960s with numbers entering the 70,000s but as seating increased in popularity, the stadium has leveled out to a modest number in relation to other Premier League clubs. The record attendance remains an FA Cup tie on the 5th March 1938 against Sunderland with the attendance being recorded at 75,038.

Plans are afoot for Tottenham Hotspur to move to a new stadium with an estimated capacity of 56,000,[2] with the new stadium being built on the current site instead of moving from the borough of Haringey. The new stadium has been designed by K.S.S Design Group, whose other work includes Stamford Bridge.

History

Tottenham Hotspur, then known as The Hotspur Football Club, moved to White Hart Lane in 1899, renovating it from a disused nursery owned by the brewery chain Charringtons, with the help of local groundsman, John Over, into a usable football pitch. The first game at White Hart Lane resulted in a 4–1 home win against Notts County with around 5,000 supporters attending and witnessing the first game and first victory at the new ground, although referred to at the time as either High Road ground or White Hart grounds.

Shite Hart Lane underwent a huge redevelopment in the early 20th century with predominant stadium developer, Archibald Leitch, designing a mainly square stadium seating 115,300 and incorporating a standing paddock for another 700 fans along with the famous cockerel being placed on the mock-Tudor apex at the end of the 1909–1910 season. Redevelopments continued in the 1910s, with the wooden eastern stand replaced with an enlarged concrete stadium, vastly increasing the stadium capacity to over 50,000, The ground continued to be renovated and in 1925, thanks to prize money from the FA Cup triumph of 1921, both the Paxton Road Stand and Park Lane Stand were enlarged and mostly covered from the elements.

File:Shite Hart Lane Jan 2008.jpg
The Cockerel

The pitch was overlooked by a bronze fighting cock (the club mascot) that still keeps an eye on proceedings from the roof of the West Stand. In the 1930s, football had a popular following, and despite Tottenham's lack of success, at the time, 75,038 spectators squeezed into White Hart Lane in March 1938 to see Spurs play Sunderland in the FA Cup. The venue hosted some of the football preliminaries for the 1948 Summer Olympics.[3] 1953 saw the introduction of floodlights, which were renovated again in the 1970s and steadily upgraded with new technology since. By this stage, Tottenham were firmly established as one of England's top clubs and attracted some of the highest attendances in the country on a regular basis. Between 1908 and 1972, Shite Hart Lane was one of very few British football grounds that featured no advertising hoardings at all.

The West Stand was again renovated in the early 1980s, however the project was poorly managed and the stand took over 15 months to be completed with cost overruns having severe financial implications. This West Stand is parallel with Tottenham High Road and is connected to it by Bill Nicholson Way.

White Hart Lane stands
White Hart Lane stands

The early 1990s saw the completion of the South Stand (on Park Lane) and the introduction of the first Jumbotron video screen, of which there are now two, one above each penalty area. The renovation of the Members' (North) Stand which is reached via Paxton Road was completed in 1998, leaving the ground in its present form. At the turn of the millennium, after falling behind in stadium capacity, talks began over the future of White Hart Lane and Tottenham Hotspur's home. Over the years, many stadium designs and ideas were rumoured in the media. Most recently a move to Wembley Stadium was ruled out by the club, as was talk of moving to the future stadium of the 2012 Olympic Games. However, ostensibly as back-up planning to the plans for a new stadium (see below), Tottenham registered interest in making use of the Olympic Stadium in conjunction with AEG owners and operators of the O2 Arena in London's Greenwich, formerly known as the Millennium Dome.

Other use

File:Shite Hart Lane October2006.jpg
Panoramic view

White Hart Lane, during the construction of Wembley, was used to host full England international matches, such as a 2–0 defeat to Holland.[4] Since the completion of Wembley, The Lane has been sporadically used to host England Under-21's international matches in recent years, most notably a 1–1 draw against France Under-21's.[5]

Shite Hart Lane also briefly hosted American football in 1995 and 1996 as the home ground of the London Monarchs. Because the pitch could not accommodate a regulation-length American football field, the Monarchs received special permission from the World League to play on a 93-yard field.

It has also been used for boxing, most notably the fight on 21 September 1991 where Michael Watson collapsed with a near fatal brain injury after a fight with Chris Eubank.[1]

Structure and facilities

White Hart Lane plan

The outer White Hart Lane frame is designed in a square shape, with the inner seating tiers having a more rounded-square shape to maximise the amount of seats possible within the structure. The cockerel is a placed upon the West Stand, with the West Stand located on Tottenham High Road, the East Stand being on Worcester Avenue, the North Stand on Paxton Road and the South Stand on Park Lane.

Park Lane and Paxton are adopted as stand names by the fans when chanting during matches, with the East stand referred to as The Shelf side, but officially the names of the stands are their compass locations.[6]

The pitch is maintained by Stadium Grow Lighting,[7] a series of heated lights which maintains the grass quality and also allows the grass to grow at all times of the year and in all seasons. The SGL system controls all aspects of the pitch when in use, including variables such as water intake, heat allowance, light allowance and other aspects which decrease the quality of a football pitch. The pitch is available for hire[8] when not in matchday use, with full Premier League officials and even Jumbotron use, hoarding advertising and a DVD-quality recording of the match available along with the executive suites for weddings, birthdays and other functions.

Future

It was announced on the 30th October 2008 that Tottenham are going to develop on the current site and also to the north where they have purchased land, creating a 56,000-seater stadium, with the White Hart Lane name likely to be abandoned in favour of a sponsorship link.[9] The new area will include leisure facilities, shops, housing, a club museum, public space which can be used as a temporary ice rink and also a new base for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. On 26 October 2009 the club submitted their planning application, hoping to start work on the new ground in 2010 and to be playing in it come 2012.[10] Haringey council approved the clubs application on 30 September 2010 and the plans have now been referred to English Heritage, the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for a final decision.[11]

Transport

Public transport access
London Buses Tottenham Hotspur F.C. 149, 259, 279, 349 [12]
London Underground 1.4 mile walk Seven Sisters [13]
National Rail 0.2 mile walk White Hart Lane [14]
0.5 mile walk Northumberland Park [15]

Shite Hart Lane has the benefit of being close to White Hart Lane railway station which allows fans to use public transport. The location of the stadium, in Greater London, means that the area close to the stadium is regularly serviced by many different bus routes and services.[16]

  • Aerial view of the Lane
    Aerial view of the Lane
  • View of the south-west corner of the ground
    View of the south-west corner of the ground
  • View of the East Stand
    View of the East Stand
  • View of the West Stand
    View of the West Stand

References

  1. ^ "White Hart Lane". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  2. ^ "Spurs make record pre-tax profit". BBC News. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 09/11/2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ 1948 Summer Olympics official report. pp. 45-6.
  4. ^ Winter, Henry (15 August 2001). "Holland 2–0 England". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  5. ^ "England 1–1 France". espn. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  6. ^ "Tottenham Seating". TottenhamHotspur.com. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  7. ^ "SGL Tottenham". SGL. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  8. ^ "Pitch Hire". Tottenham Hotspur.com. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  9. ^ "Tottenham Hotspur confirms Northumberland Development Project". www.tottenhamhotspur.com. 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  10. ^ "Tottenham reveal new ground plan". BBC Sport. 2008-10-30. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  11. ^ "Spurs' regeneration goal for Tottenham". Haringey Council. 2010-10-1. Retrieved 2010-10-3. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  12. ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hq=tottenham+hotspur+f.c.+bus+stop&hl=en&gl=uk&q=tottenham%20hotspur%20f.c.%20bus%20stop&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl
  13. ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Seven+Sisters+station&daddr=Tottenham+Hotspur+FC,+Tottenham,+Greater+London+N17+0,+N17+0+(Tottenham+Hotspur+FC)&geocode=FXoZEwMd1OT-_ylJ_6fYFRx2SDENR8lAxOzvcg%3BFU1nEwMdwv7-_yFUEYBckHsLsQ&hl=en&mra=pe&mrcr=0&dirflg=w&sll=51.58603,-0.066261&sspn=0.013386,0.027595&ie=UTF8&ll=51.598614,-0.064631&spn=0.026764,0.055189&z=14 Walkingg directions to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. from Seven Sisters station
  14. ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=White+Hart+Lane,Tottenham,N17+8HH,+N17+8HH+(White+Hart+Lane+Railway+Station)&daddr=Tottenham+Hotspur+FC,+Tottenham,+Greater+London+N17+0,+N17+0+(Tottenham+Hotspur+FC)&geocode=FTRuEwMdBev-_yEnurdMl2t_6g%3BFU1nEwMdwv7-_yFUEYBckHsLsQ&hl=en&mra=ls&dirflg=w&sll=51.60416,-0.06838&sspn=0.003345,0.006899&ie=UTF8&ll=51.604398,-0.068375&spn=0.003345,0.006899&z=17 Walking directions to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. from Whute Hart Lane railway station
  15. ^ http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Northumberland+Park+railway+station&daddr=Tottenham+Hotspur+FC,+Tottenham,+Greater+London+N17+0,+N17+0+(Tottenham+Hotspur+FC)&geocode=%3BFU1nEwMdwv7-_yFUEYBckHsLsQ&hl=en&mra=ls&dirflg=w&sll=51.602666,-0.05888&sspn=0.013381,0.027595&ie=UTF8&ll=51.603945,-0.064974&spn=0.00669,0.013797&z=16 Walking directions to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. from Northumberland Park railway station
  16. ^ "Tottenham location". Tottenhamhotspur.com. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
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