The new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at White Hart Lane has seen its opening delayed at least a couple times, but Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino remains hopeful about the timeline. It was originally supposed to be ready for Spurs’ clash on September 15th against Liverpool, but issues with “critical safety systems” made that impossible.
Then we were told it could be ready for the Manchester City contest on October 29th, or perhaps just after that in November. Now it’s realistically looking like January 2019, although the THFC party line still claims 2018 is possible. Pochettino, speaking ahead of a League Cup clash that Spurs will “host” at Milton Keynes, 50 miles outside of London, says he’s confident the new facility will be christened in 2018.
“I am confident. This year. I am confident this year. I had a private conversation with Daniel (Levy, THFC Chairman), well not so private because Jesus (Perez) was there,” Pochettino said ahead of the EFL Cup third round clash.
“I think they are confident. They are working hard to try to find the solution. I hope before the year ends, before Christmas, we can play. That’s my wish. We have conversations every day.”
“He (Levy) called me this morning before training and yesterday (Monday) we took a coffee here at the restaurant.”
“Sometimes he tells me, sometimes he opens the conversation about the stadium, sometimes I open the conversation and say, ‘Daniel, how is the stadium?’ and sometimes it’s tough to explain. But, yes, I am very confident before the end of the year.”
Tottenham played all their home games last season as well as three league contests and a UEFA Champions League group stage clash this season at Wembley Stadium. They cannot play at Wembley tonight due to a boxing match. The new target opening date seems to be Nov. 24, when Chelsea arrive for a London derby.
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