by Guest Sat Nov 20 2010, 03:04
Daniel Levy Planning To Sell Tottenham To A Middle East Or Russian Consortium - Tottenham MP David Lammy
*City rumours that Spurs chairman preparing for sale
*Billionaire Joe Lewis has become more involved at club
*Cost of redeveloping White Hart Lane could rise to £500m
*London Mayor Boris Johnson 'wants a big club to get into Olympic Stadium"
By Wayne Veysey
Nov 19, 2010 8:55:00 AM
EXCLUSIVE
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wants Spurs to move to the Olympic Stadium so he can sell the club to a Russian or Middle East consortium for a higher price, Tottenham MP David Lammy has told Goal.com UK.
In an exclusive interview, Lammy claimed that, following two meetings with Levy over the last 48 hours, he is convinced that Spurs’ favoured stadium option is now to leave north London and move to Stratford.
Lammy, who was at a dinner with other parliamentarians and Levy at the Marriott County Hall Hotel in the City on Wednesday night and saw the Spurs chief again in a private meeting at White Hart Lane on Thursday morning, said: “It is Daniel’s intention to sell. That’s what is going around the rumour mill – that Tottenham will be sold to a Russian or Middle East consortium - and has been for some time.
“For him, it’s all about selling the club for the highest price. He would get a lot of money from the Olympic Stadium when it is built. I put that to him and he blushed.
“It’s about naming rights and the money Tottenham could get from the kind of site they would expect the Olympic Stadium to be. He thinks he can get this past the fans and that’s the end of it. He is deadly serious about these plans.
“Daniel made it clear that this is about money. That’s what he said to me, ‘This is about the bottom line’.”
Enic, in which Levy has a 29.4 per cent personal stake, owns 85 per cent of the club and is controlled by Bahamas-based billionaire Joe Lewis, who went to his first game in nine years last season and has become more involved at the club over the last 12 months.
Tottenham refused to comment on Lammy’s suggestion that they are paving the way for a sale but it is clear that the Olympic Stadium has become more than just a fall-back option.
Goal.com UK understands that the bill for redeveloping White Hart Lane has now risen far beyond the original £400m estimate to around £480million, and could reach £500m.
Despite gaining planning permission from Haringey Council, Spurs still have to acquire land for the Northumberland Development Project, as it is known, to deal with transport issues, and the club still have to meet the requirements of Section 106 agreements, which are donations paid to local authorities for investing in community projects.
As revealed by Goal.com UK last month, Spurs’ plan is to demolish the Olympic Stadium, build a ‘world class’ football venue in its place and fund a purpose-built athletics venue or redevelop the ailing national stadium at Crystal Palace to fulfil the athletics legacy that is key to securing the site.
Lammy is in no doubt that Tottenham’s last-minute proposal for the £537m Olympic Stadium is neither a red herring nor a bargaining chip designed to reduce the financial demands of English Heritage, Haringey Council and Transport for London.
“What gives me the impression that it is Daniel’s first choice is that he is about to spend quite a lot of money on this bid,” continued Lammy. “He wouldn’t tell me how much but he talked very positively about the prospect of moving.
“He didn’t recognise the concerns being put forward about athletics. He said this could easily be hosted somewhere else.
“Sir Keith Mills joined the Spurs board just over a year ago and it is clear he was brought in for his Olympic expertise. In the meeting on Wednesday night, Sir Keith was rigorous in his assessment that the Olympic Stadium is the best bid.
“They have effectively said that the White Hart Lane costs have risen. They are not sure how they could finance it, although they were not saying this before they got planning permission in September.”
Spurs plan to sell the 20-acre site at White Hart Lane to property developers to help part-fund the cost of moving to the site of the Olympic Stadium.
Negotiations will begin next week with the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which has a straight choice between Tottenham and the other short-listed bidder, West Ham. A preferred tenant could be selected by the end of the year, with contracts signed by spring.
Lammy is convinced that Spurs’ connections, which extend to the highest political office in London, make them a strong candidate.
“The impression I get is that Boris Johnson [London mayor] is encouraging Spurs,” he added. “He was keen for Daniel to put in a bid in the first place. He wants a legacy of big club to get into the Olympic Stadium.
“Perhaps he has doubts about West Ham, I don’t know. The combination of Boris and Sir Keith Mills will mean that Spurs are prepared to put profits and future funds before club and community.”
http://www.goal.com
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