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Dr Dan: Tottenham hit with £101m blow at 'worst possible time' after official confirmation
The pandemic came around at the “worst possible time” for Tottenham as they looked to squeeze revenue from their new stadium.
So says finance expert and new Football Insider columnist Doctor Dan Plumley, speaking exclusively about Spurs’ latest set of annual accounts.
In the 53-page document published on 23 November, the North London club revealed a total loss of £80.2million for the year ending June 2021.
It was also confirmed that Spurs’ debt had risen by £101m, from £605m to £706m, over the course of the pandemic-hit 2020-21 campaign.
That was due in large part to loans taken out in the absence of matchday and other stadium-related income.
Plumley insists that the timing of the pandemic, which began less than a year after opening night, was a major blow for their plans at the arena.
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“There is no good time to have a pandemic,” the Sheffield Hallam University expert told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.
“But it really collided with them at the worst possible time because they had big plans for that stadium and still do.
“They have been put on hold for the past few years. They have the NFL contract and one-off events like the Anthony Joshua fight, of course.
“Those were all built into the financial model. The club has taken on a lot of debt with that stadium with a plan in mind to pay it off with the other stuff.
“It’s a long-term investment that has been paused. Their loss this year has been driven by the matchday revenue and all the wraparound stuff there.
“They historically run a sustainable business model and you would expect them to bounce back.”
Tottenham, who are currently 7th in the Premier League, are still waiting for a naming rights deal at their 63,000-capacity home ground.
This site revealed in September that they had entered talks over a deal and are holding out for £25million per year.
In other news, pundit expects Antonio Conte has made mind up on binning “disgraceful” Tottenham stars after squad confession.