Tottenham's new stadium opener: What you need to know about Spurs U18s match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP22 March 2019

Tottenham Under-18s will welcome Southampton to their new north London home in the first of two test events before the scheduled opener against Crystal Palace on April 3.

The U18 Premier League fixture marks the end of a lengthy wait for the first use of the £1bn venue following lengthy delays which have put the grand opening back by around eight months.

Here, we look at what fans can expect as around 30,000 supporters get a first taste of the new stadium...

What will the event achieve?

Spurs need at least 25,000 supporters for the U-18s clash with Southampton in order to pass the first test event and the club has deliberately oversold tickets in case of no-shows. Spurs are therefore expecting closer to 30,000 fans at the 62,062-seat arena on Sunday and there will be a four-page programme to commemorate the event.

Season ticket-holders and members have been allowed to choose their own seats, so fans will be spread throughout the stadium, including in the 17,500-seat single-tier ‘Yellow Wall’, which is more than 34 metres high.

Distances from the front row to the touchline range from just 4.9 metres to 7.9m, leaving supporters far closer to the pitch than at the Emirates Stadium.

So who will be there?

Pochettino will watch from the stands
REUTERS/David Klein

The U-18s will be managed by former Spurs midfielder Ryan Mason and John McDermott, the club’s head of player coaching and development.

Mauricio Pochettino will watch from the stands. The Spurs manager will be a guest at half-time on Sunday and his son, Maurizio, 17, is expected to start the game on the wing.

Can fans see all of the stadium?

The ground, which has nine floors, takes eight hours to walk around and all public areas — and bars — will be open on Sunday. Fans are free to move around all public areas.

Fans will notice a number of heritage plaques, including the Lane Centre Spot, the mark where all 2,533 competitive matches at the old White Hart Lane kicked off. It can be found within the South Atrium, the entrance to the single-tier South Stand.

Other points of interest will be marked over the coming weeks, including the Park Lane penalty spot, the South West corner and the North West and North East corner points of the old Lane.

Where to drink before the game?

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

The bars, including The Dispensary, The Shelf, The White Hart and the 65m Goal Line Bar (the longest bar in Europe), all have taps that fill the pints automatically from underneath — the ‘bottoms-up’ system — and can be left unattended by staff. The technology will allow 10,000 pints a minute to be poured, with the locally-brewed beer at £5 a pint and Amstel and Heineken at £4.

The Microbrewery and Beavertown Tottenham Taproom (above) can be found in the South East Corner on Level One, serving a range of craft beers.

The ground is the first entirely cashless stadium in the world.

Will I see any nods to the club’s history?

A feature wall paying tribute to the club’s most successful manager, Bill Nicholson, is in the East Stand’s White Hart bar, where there is also an artist’s impression of the day Spurs said farewell to their former home in May 2017. Nicholson’s old office was in the old stadium’s East Stand and his ashes have been buried under the new pitch.

A collage of the front pages of the club’s matchday programmes can be found next to the Chicken House on Level One, South-West, while there is an art gallery in the West Stand, featuring work by local artists.

On Level One in the north-east corner, there is an area dedicated to more than 150 supporters’ clubs, with scarves from China to Ethiopia.

The Golden Cockerel, situated on the roof of the South Stand, has been made with a 3D scan of the original that first appeared at the Lane in 1909. It has every mark from the original, including a dent made by Paul Gascoigne with an air-rifle.

Anything else I should know?

The stadium features free Wi-Fi and mobile coverage from all four major UK network providers.

The new stadium boasts four big screens inside, and two outside. The two in the South Stand measure 325 square metres, making them the largest screens in any stadium in western Europe. Two additional screens in the North Stand each measure 190.7 square metres, while there are two LED-video displays outside the ground on the south west and south east facades, each measuring 178.9 square metres.

Features still to come include the Sky Walk, a glass walkway situated 40m above the pitch, taking in views of London. Supporters will be able to abseil from the stadium roof to ground level.

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