The National Football League (NFL) announced on Thursday that Tottenham Hotspur Stadium officially becomes the “Home of the NFL” in the United Kingdom following an arrangement struck with the Premier League team.
The stadium, which is the only arena purposely built for American football games outside of the United States, was awarded an expansion of their initial partnership over the next six years.
As part of the newly-signed agreement, the stadium will play host to at least two regular-season NFL games every season until the end of the 2029–2030 campaign, as opposed to the previous one signed in 2018, which was due to run until 2028.
“Yeah. I mean, I think probably the most special thing is that operationally it supports exactly what we would need for an NFL game outside of the US,” NFL UK’s general manager Henry Hodgson said. “You know, we play in other markets: we played in Mexico, we play in Germany, and there you’re going into a stadium and trying to retrofit elements that are necessary for an NFL game into those stadiums.
“And, you know, clearly there’s a big difference, mostly between a soccer changing room, let’s say, which is catering, for 11 to 15 players of a certain size and an NFL changing room, which is 60 odd players who are probably much bigger.
“So, working with Tottenham to actually get involved in that as part of the process of building the stadium means that we have exactly what we want here. And, you know, I can tell you that when NFL clubs come in here and the players see the locker room here at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they’re blown away because it’s better than a lot of the ones that they would experience, almost all of the ones they experience in the US,” he added.
Tottenham Hotspur and @NFL have today announced the expansion of their partnership through the 2029-2030 season.
A minimum of two regular season games a year will be played at @SpursStadium, the Home of the NFL in the UK.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 14, 2023
The world-class Tottenham Hotspur stadium, which is worth around an estimated £1 billion, is a multi-use stadium with modern facilities, including its own playing surface, locker rooms, and media areas.
The arena in North London has played host to six NFL games since 2019, and with a full house also present at the games, it has provided financial aid to the struggling community.
“Our partnership with the NFL has been integral to our wider vision for the stadium and delivering a sports and entertainment destination in London,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said. “Creating additional recurring sources of revenue to reinvest in our football activities is a key part of the club’s financial model.
“NFL gamedays at our stadium are special occasions where we see fans from around the world descend on Tottenham, bringing so much vibrancy to the High Road and supporting our local economy.”
The NFL has been staging games in the UK since 2007 as part of their international expansion series, with both Wembley Stadium and Twickenham Stadium mostly used as venues. However, since Tottenham Stadium opened in April 2019, it has been hosting games along with Wembley.
This season, Tottenham Stadium has been penned down to host two games, while Wembley will have one. The Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars will play on October 8 at Tottenham, while the Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens will follow suit a week later. On October 1, the Atlanta Falcons and the Jaguars will lock horns at Wembley Stadium.
