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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Joseph McBride

Inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's huge transformation from Premier League to NFL arena

Tottenham Hotspur 's Stadium is ready to welcome to NFL once again, with the first of three London games kicking off on Sunday.

Antonio Conte 's side will be playing elsewhere in north London as they take on Arsenal at the Emirates while the Minnesota Vikings take on the New Orleans Saints. And just a week later, they'll get ready to play host once again as the Green Bay Packers play outside of America for the first time, squaring off against the New York Giants.

Tottenham's stadium is one of the best in the world, and was built ready for huge occasions such as this. And a stunning time-lapse captured by the NFL has shown it changing from Premier League fortress to NFL arena.

The video shows the process of Tottenham's pitch being transformed, and it does so via clever machinery that sees the real grass pitch split into sections before it moves to a storage area underneath the South Stand.

The south stand at Spurs is supported by two beams, and, as a result, the pitch has to be split into three parts and placed in the car park underneath the stand, which takes 25 minutes for construction workers on site. LED lights in the ceiling are then turned on to keep the football pitch healthy and growing while away from sunlight.

That then leaves the ready-made artificial surface exposed, and side-lines become lowered to match its level. The remaining turf then gets put in place, while the huge goalposts are erected and put into place. Then, it's time to paint the required lines onto the pitch, and of course, the famous NFL logo in the middle.

Inside the stands, Tottenham's hospitality boxes are transformed into American television studios, while the Tottenham dressing rooms are left as they are, as the NFL teams use specially-made dressing rooms elsewhere, which have more space due to the larger rosters.

Tottenham's stadium was opened in 2019, but it was always meant to host events such as this, as the versatile ground is prepared for a lot more than just Premier League and Champions League football. The Chicago Bears and the formerly-known Oakland Raiders played the inaugural match at the Tottenham Stadium, and concerts and even boxing events have taken place since.

It was the stadium that Anthony Joshua lost his first bout with Oleksandr Usyk, and the most recent NFL game to be played there was between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Miami Dolphins. The Jaguars edged it 23-20, and fans are expecting an even better year in 2022.

Tottenham hosted the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars last year (Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)

Tottenham is hosting two games this time around, with the Vikings v Saints expected to be a thrilling curtain raiser. They face-off on October 2, before the Packers make their bow on October 9.

Packers fans over in the UK have been waiting for years to see their side in the flesh, and it could well be the first and last time Aaron Rodgers makes an appearance in London as a quarterback. Tickets sold out within minutes, as the NFL continues to grow worldwide.

They're not the only games that will be played in London though, as Wembley Stadium will host the final game in the London 2022 series. The Denver Broncos will face the Jaguars on October 30, wrapping up an action packed month in the English capital.

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