Opinion
Visitng Tottenham’s new home made me feel like a child again
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted its first test event on Sunday (pic: Ian Walton/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Spurs opened their new home at the weekend on a day all in attendance will remember forever
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted its first test event on Sunday (pic: Ian Walton/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
Think back to when you were younger and how excited you would be when Christmas morning rolled around.
You’d barely get any sleep the night before and in the morning, you’d be up as early as possible.
Hurriedly, you’d head towards the Christmas tree and start unwrapping your presents with a huge smile on your face.
For many adults, that experience was repeated on Sunday afternoon as Tottenham Hotspur played their first game at their new home.
Spurs' under-18s beat Southampton 3-1 in the first test event at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (pic: Ian Walton/PA) - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images
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The only difference was that rather than being the latest Hot Wheels set, fans were giddy and all jostling to get their first glimpse of the new stadium.
Before this goes any further, I’ll issue a disclaimer and reveal that I’m a Spurs fan myself, so forgive me if I get carried away.
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But like most in attendance in N17 at the weekend, I was filled with excitement about visiting our new home.
Even on the train to White Hart Lane, I was regularly peering out of the window to see if the ground was in view yet as if I was a child again.
When I did see it, the view was majestic and that was just from the outside — there was plenty more to uncover inside.
One steward told me the best way to get used to the stadium was to ‘get lost’ — I’m sure he meant that as a way of telling me to explore.
What I uncovered was superb, with the ground boasting it’s own microbrewery, Europe’s longest bar at the Goal Line and the largest single-tier stand in the United Kingdom.
Every inch of the stadium is breathtaking and even fans of rivals clubs will marvel at how brilliant it all is.
As for the opening game itself, Tottenham’s under-18s recorded a 3-1 win over Southampton in their league encounter.
The honour of scoring the first goal at the new ground went to J’Neil Bennett, with the youngster from Camden expertly curling home from the edge of the area.
That is a memory that will live with Bennett for a lifetime and for Spurs on the whole, it will be the first of many at their new ground.
It doesn’t half feel good to be finally home.
