Tottenham’s new stadium shows why Chelsea should wait for a new home
Chelsea’s new stadium project has been anything but smooth sailing. However, with London rivals Tottenham recently unveiling their new home, the powers that be may want to renew their plans to improve Stamford Bridge. Of course, anything Spurs can do, Chelsea fans will want to see their club do better. However, to match the new White Hart Lane, Roman Abramovich and his team will have to come up with something special.
As well as being the second largest stadium in the country, White Hart Lane is, in simple terms, a state-of-the-art masterpiece. At the bottom of the “tech spectrum” are the two 325m² TV screens. Although these aren’t the most impressive pieces of kit inside, they’re nonetheless imposing and produce crystal clear images. Moving up the scale, “bottoms up” technology means staff can now pour 10,000 pints of beer per minute! Yes, even by the hardiest of drinker’s standards, that’s impressive.
Spurs leading the way with hi-tech stadium
However, while these innovations are great, it’s the connectivity of White Hart Lane that makes it worth the £850-million price tag. In an effort to provide a “connected experience”, developers installed free Wi-Fi in all areas of the stadium. As well as providing internet access, this allows White Hart Lane to be completely cashless. Taking inspiration from online entertainment platforms, the designers wanted real payments to take place without any physical cash changing hands. Although new in the football world, online gaming sites have been using this technology for the last five years.
At Genesis Casino in the UK, online gamers can make payments to their account using Boku. Known as a pay-by-mobile option, this process charges deposits to a user’s phone bill. The benefit of this is that they don’t need cash or even their credit card to make payments. By inputting their phone number, they simply have to authorise a charge to their phone bill and the deposit is processed. Now, this ease of payment has been implemented at White Hart Lane, as Tottenham have installed 878 contactless payment points around the stadium. Removing the need for cash, these terminals allow fans to pay for food, drink and even their tickets by tapping their credit/debit card or via Apple Pay.
Without the money, it’s not worth pushing for a new stadium
Of course, Chelsea’s stadium plans aren’t all about technology. In May 2018, the club said any developments were on hold because of the “unfavourable investment climate”. Today, things aren’t much better. The current two-window transfer restriction means manager Maurizio Sarri won’t be able to bolster his side in the way he’d like. With only a place in the top five this season as a realistic goal, money may be even harder to come by next season. That being the case, a new stadium may have to wait.
Indeed, with Tottenham showing what’s possible in terms of capacity, quality and technology, it would be a huge mistake for Chelsea to cut corners. By rushing a project that’s been talked about since 2015 and not being able to match one of its biggest rivals, Chelsea would attract a host of unwanted criticism. Therefore, even though Stamford Bridge may be in need of a refurb, it seems as though some things are best left until they can be done the right way.
