Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy is keen for the club to build a new stadium (Picture: REUTERS)

Tottenham have launched an audacious bid to build a new 65,000 seat stadium by teaming up with a new London based NFL franchise.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy reckons the potential tie-up could finally allow the Lilywhites to a bigger ground and compete with the biggest clubs in Europe in the transfer market.

The club have been keen to move away from White Hart Lane, which holds just 35,000 supporters, for a number of years but have struggled to turn those plans into reality and lost out to rivals West Ham United in their bid for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

And the club have now appointed architects Populous, designers of the Olympic Stadium and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium – to design a bigger ground which would allow an easy switch from football to NFL.




It is understood that plans being drawn up for the Premier League outfit may include a sliding pitch to protect the playing surface for when it is used for NFL matches.

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Cheerleaders perform on stage during an NFL fan rally in Trafalgar Square (Picture: AP)

A Spurs spokesman refused to rule out the club working with an NFL franchise and insisted the ‘New White Hart Lane’ would be a multi-purpose arena.

‘THFC has always seen the new stadium as being at the heart of the regeneration of the area and this process can be enhanced through future-proofing the design, as well as increasing the functionality of the stadium,’ they said. ‘The club intends to continue to examine all options as it refines its plans.’

The NFL are keen to globalise their game the sports commissioner Roger Goodell has become increasingly keen on establishing a franchise in London, following the success of a series of one-off matches.

Goodell said: ‘The great thing about our fans in the UK is that it seems they want more and more. And we want to deliver that. I’ve often said I don’t rule out that there could be a franchise here in the UK. If it continues to grow that is a real possibility.’

Regular season games have been held at Wembley since 2007 and this year two games have been held in the capital, with three planned for 2014.

There have been suggestions that the Jacksonville Jaguars, owned by Shahid Khan, who bought Fulham in the summer, could be one franchise to move to London, though Khan has denied that is his intention.

Last year the Jaguars signed a four-year deal to play one game a year at Wembley until 2016.

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