Tottenham Hotspur have announced that the capacity of their proposed new stadium will be 58,237 and, as they push towards the submission of a planning application later this year, they hope to complete their move in the 2013-14 season.
The club, in the throes of a second and final public consultation period, believe they have outgrown their White Hart Lane ground, which can hold only 36,214 fans; they have another 22,000 on the waiting list for season tickets. They have drawn up plans to build a new stadium to the north of the current site and they intend to continue playing at White Hart Lane while the construction takes place.
That may not be for some time. The chairman, Daniel Levy, estimated last October that planning, if and when granted, would take 12-24 months and the building programme a further three years. Naming rights to the stadium will be an essential part of its funding.
Tottenham say they are not chasing a headline capacity figure and they have prioritised the quality of the seating and getting fans as close to the pitch as possible – closer certainly than in comparable new builds such as Arsenal's Emirates stadium and Manchester City's Eastlands. The stadium will accommodate 1,358 supporters in 132 corporate boxes.
Tottenham's captain, Robbie Keane, said: "Having the fans right up close, on the edge of the action, can lift the team on the day when it matters most and make the stadium a fortress."
Levy, said: "We received an overwhelmingly positive response to our first exhibition and we have spent the past few months further developing our plans, adding new elements, responding to feedback and evolving the scheme to where it is now.
"Too often new stadiums are surrounded by empty, dead space and we did not want that in Tottenham. Instead, with these new plans for the public square and public space, we have embraced the opportunity to create something truly special for local people."
The latest plans will be revealed as part of a second public consultation, which starts tomorrow.
Meanwhile the Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko wants to play his part in Guus Hiddink staying as Russia's coach on a full-time basis.
Hiddink is sharing his international duties with Chelsea until the end of the season and there has been speculation about his future beyond that point.
Pavlyuchenko scored at the weekend in the World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan and the 27-year-old believes a win over Liechtenstein tonight will help persuade Hiddink to stay solely with Russia, whom the coach led to the semi-finals of the European Championship last year.
"First, we need to prove to Guus that we are a good team, and the way we can do that is by winning our next few matches," Pavlyuchenko said. "It depends only on us. I have not been playing recently for my club, so I have so much energy and I shall fight for the cause."
Pavlyuchenko's club-mate Kevin-Prince Boateng has said he wants to leave White Hart Lane at the end of the season and join Borussia Dortmund on a permanent transfer. The 22-year-old has been on loan at the German club since the January transfer window.
He told the German newspaper Bild: "I want to win a new contract at Borussia." Boateng suffered a knee injury following his move and added: "I have to train really hard. The coach even told me not to rush things. He told me I'd still get chances."
Boateng joined Tottenham from Hertha Berlin in 2007 but failed to hold down a place in the first team.
