On Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET, the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings will face off at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
This stadium opened in 2019 and is located in north London in the borough of Haringey. With a capacity of 62,850, it is currently the sixth-largest stadium in the country. Wembley Stadium is the United Kingdon’s largest stadium (and one of the largest venues in the world), with a capacity of 90,000.
The NFL has utilized three stadiums in London, with the majority having been played at Wembley Stadium. However, Twickenham Stadium and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have also hosted a handful of contests. Recently, the NFL signed a multi-year agreement with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to make it the official home of the NFL in the United Kingdom.
There have been seven NFL games at Tottenham Stadium, with an average attendance of 60,694 fans and an average of 49.3 points scored. Each team has scored at least 20 points in every game thus far. Six of the seven games were decided by one possession, with the exception being the Carolina Panthers’ 37-26 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019.
What Other Events Are Held at Tottenham Stadium?
The stadium is home to the Tottenham Hotspur soccer team — an English Premier League squad. The team played at White Hart Lane for 118 years, from 1899 to 2017, before the stadium was torn down and Tottenham Stadium was built in its place. In 2028, the stadium will be one of 10 to host the Euro 2028 tournament games.
Many musicians have performed at the stadium in recent years, including Guns N’ Roses, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
In September 2021, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua in the first boxing match held at the stadium. Usyk claimed the WBA, IBF, and WBO title belts in front of over 66,000 people.
Formula 1 and Tottenham announced a new driver academy program as well. The 15-year deal will have a driver academy program that will help identify future F1 drivers. It will be the world’s first in-stadium electric karting facility and London’s longest indoor track.
Turf Controversy Last Year’s NFL Game
After the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 25-20 win over the Buffalo Bills in Week 5 of last season, several players spoke out about the poor quality of the field. Several Bills players got injured during the game, prompting Bills linebacker Von Miller to complain about the turf during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.
“I really couldn’t believe that we had high-class athletes — $40 million athletes — playing on that turf in London,” Miller said. “I’ve been playing in the league for 13 years and that was some of the worst turf that I’ve played on.”
"I really couldn't believe that we had high class athletes playing on that turf in London..
I've been playing in the league for thirteen years and that was some of the worst turf that I've played on" ~ @VonMiller #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Wmn0Js7jdk
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 12, 2023
“It was hard, it was tight,” Miller added. “It just felt stiff, and it didn’t feel like it had any padding under it.”
The Tottenham Hotspur club plays soccer on a grass surface, but a turf field is brought in specifically for the NFL games. Many players dislike turf surfaces, but it appears that some players feel the London field is even worse than the turf in NFL stadiums.
As previously mentioned, the NFL has an agreement to play at least two games each season at the stadium through the 2029–2030 NFL season, so don’t expect the London games to go away anytime soon. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has also been designated as the official home of the NFL in the UK.
When Did the NFL Start Playing Internationally?
Between 1950 and 1983, there were 13 games involving NFL or AFL teams that were played outside of the United States; seven of those games were against CFL teams in Canada. Three other games were also played in Canada — one in Toronto, two in Montreal — but they were against teams in their respective league rather than against outside opponents.
The final three games were played in Tokyo in 1976, Mexico City in 1978, and London, which was played in 1983.
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The current NFL International Series as we know it was created in 2007, where for the first six seasons, Wembley Stadium hosted one game a year. In 2013, this grew to two games and then eventually three in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
From there, the NFL has continued to push the boundaries, add more games, and broaden its horizons as it looks to make the NFL a global game enjoyed by all.