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The Spurs of the Moment Have a New Home
Innovative sports stadiums of the future don’t grow on trees…
but they sure are popping up like they do.
Continuing from yesterday’s article that spotlighted Real Madrid’s recent plans to upgrade its Bernabéu Stadium, today’s UEFA Champions League first-leg clash between Tottenham Hotspur (“Spurs”) and Manchester City (“Man City”) seems like the right time to spotlight Tottenham’s new stadium, which was the site for the aforementioned Champions League match.
FYI – Tottenham Hotspur upset Man City 1-nil. The return leg in Manchester will be a must-see TV experience as Pep’s friends are in a bit of a pickle.
For now, enjoy the future of football (or soccer for my American friends) in London with a digital tour of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“The stadium cost an estimated £850 million, boasts a retractable pitch, and has a sunken artificial pitch so it can host 2 NFL games each season.
It also has the biggest single tier stand in the country with a capacity of 17,500, which Tottenham hope will generate a wall of noise to rival that of Borussia Dortmund’s famous yellow wall at Signal Iduna Park.”
–Sam Pilger, Forbes contributor, ‘Can Tottenham Hotspur’s New Stadium Deliver Success?’
For the record, the digital access cards mentioned in the video above have been used at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena for the past several years. It’s new to Tottenham fans, but not European football. And further, on the record, the digital access cards are pretty cool and pleasantly seamless concerning transactions.
There’s certainly a temptation for sports stadium architects to focus too heavily on technology as the driver of the fan and player experience. That’s fair. However, the ownership groups that will survive and thrive will use exciting technological innovations as a complementary feature to enhance the modern playing experience and fan experience with equal consideration. It’s all about the game and the players and the fans. First and foremost.
In today’s spotlight, Tottenham Hotspur appears to have delivered on those two experiences.
And surprising Pep’s Man City with a home win in Champions League didn’t hurt the new stadium’s introduction to a global audience.
P.S. That goal line-stretch bar deserves a global cheer. Norm Peterson already claimed his barstool.
Happy Monday!
Now it’s time to get real about the new home of soccer (or footballing) superpower Real Madrid.
Even as a Bayern Munich fan: Wow.
It doesn’t surpass the Allianz Arena–for which I have firsthand experience seeing a Champions League game–but the vision is impressive nonetheless.
The Spanish club recently revealed its plans for a new Bernabéu Stadium via state of the art upgrades as seen through a dramatic video tour featured below. Designed with a capacity of 80,000 fans, complete with cool technological features, the new Bernabéu is an awe-inspiring sight of the future for sports stadiums that can be appreciated by soccer fans and non-soccer fans alike.
Bottom line: Can Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane win in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era? That’s the real question that will determine the future of Real Madrid.
Have a Better Week Than Last Week.
When Facial Recognition Is a Bust
We all remember the statue disaster regarding soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo that was unveiled back in 2017 that was a legitimate global news story.
(Francisco Leong–AFP/Getty Images; Octavio Passos–Getty Images)
The comical bust that can be seen above, which was created by Emanuel Santos for a ceremony that honored the soccer star by renaming the Madeira Airport to Madeira Cristiano Ronaldo Airport in Portugal, was eventually replaced last summer. In the same spirit, ‘Late Late Show’ host James Corden decided to pull a prank just a couple of days ago along these same hilariously exaggerated (jaw) lines.
The target: James Corden’s friend and fellow Brit, David Beckham.
After Bayern Munich was eliminated from Champions League during the team’s return leg against Liverpool, which is something I am still processing, I needed to laugh.
This did the trick.
Happy Monday!
Breaking News: Zinedine Zidane is pulling a Jupp Heynckes and coming out of retirement (of sorts) to return to European powerhouse Real Madrid where he won multiple Champions League titles with during the past few years.
Following the embarrassing Champions League series loss against Ajax just last week–highlighted by the 4-1 loss at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium by the team from Amsterdam–coupled with less-than-stellar performances in La Liga this season, Real Madrid has been in veritable crisis mode. It’s the reality of incredibly high expectations for a club that’s been the king of the Champions League with Mr. Zidane as their manager.
And now Real Madrid’s real leader has returned. Of course, winning the Champions League is not an option in 2019. Catching Barcelona, a team that’s 12-points ahead of Real Madrid, for the La Liga title also seems unlikely in 2019. So what’s left?
Mr. Zidane must right the ship immediately by basically winning out the remainder of the 2018/2019 schedule with style and renewed energy while searching for his new Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid will be looking to throw insane amounts of money for its next world-class x-factor. And finding this player where “x marks the spot” will be Mr. Zidane’s greatest challenge.
Oddly enough for Real Madrid, that spot marked by x (well, actually three x’s) may very well be located in Amsterdam. Just ask Barcelona.
Have a Better Week Than Last Week.
P.S. I have to say that I called Ajax upsetting Real Madrid in their Champions League series. However, I definitely did not foresee the blowout win that transpired. That was shocking. Who saw that coming? In Madrid no less! Now hopefully Bayern Munich can pull off a similar upset against Liverpool this Wednesday at the Allianz Arena.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 