In April, there was word from London that English Premier League side Tottenham wanted to share their new stadium with an NFL team when and if the NFL put a team on that side of the Atlantic.
There’s no team heading there on a permanent basis, but there will be games at Tottenham’s building when it opens in 2018. The EPL team announced that they and the league have struck a 10-year agreement to play a minimum two regular season games a year at their stadium, which is under construction. The stadium is being built with the NFL in mind and will have two fields — grass for soccer, FieldTurf for football — that can be swapped out as needed.
“With growing enthusiasm for the NFL in the United Kingdom, we are committed to hosting NFL games in world-class venues and are excited to partner with Tottenham Hotspur to play games at their future stadium,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement from the team. “We share a vision and commitment to creating the best experience for our teams, fans and the local community.”
The deal does not mean the league will stop playing games at Wembley Stadium, which will host three games during the 2015 regular season. NFL executive vice president of international Mark Waller said, via Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Journal, that the league has a “great relationship” with Wembley and that securing another site in London gives the league more flexibility in scheduling as well as the opportunity to play more games in London as either a visitor or permanent resident.