New Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Designed to Possibly Attract an NFL Franchise

Plans have changed and Tottenham may now design a new stadium to woo the NFL.

As the NFL continues to flirt with London—see: three games across the pond in 2014, up from two this season—it appears English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has gotten a bit jealous of all the Wembley Stadium attention.

London’s The Mail reported Sunday that following Tottenham’s scrapping of its planned 56,000-seat new stadium to replace the famed White Hart Lane, the club has hired one of the world’s largest sports architecture firms, Populous, to design them a 65,000-seat stadium that accommodates both kinds of football. Populous confirmed they are "reviewing the internal fit-out of the stadium."

Starting over allows Tottenham to design amenities—including a sliding pitch to protect the turf—that work for both sports, allowing for easy swapping between soccer and NFL.

Whether Tottenham wins out as a permanent home for a potential London-based NFL franchise or even edges Wembley as a new preferred home for the few regular-season games played remains to be seen.

Tim Newcomb covers stadiums, design and technology for Sports Illustrated. Follow him on Twitter at @tdnewcomb.