After months of delays Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium is finally ready to open officially.A first test event at the new ground saw Spurs’ Under-18 side take on Southampton and win 3-1 in front of a 30,000 strong crowd, while a legends match delighted supporters in the second game.9
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The first-team will play their opening match on Wednesday, April 3 for their Premier League match against Crystal Palace – the first of five league matches at the new ground before the end of the seasonThere is reported ‘trepidation’ among Mauricio Pochettino’s men about moving into the new stadium at such a key point in the season.9
Southampton – St Mary’s (2001)
Southampton left their old home of The Dell to move into a 32,500 capacity St Mary’s in time for the beginning of the 2001/02 season.Saints got off to a pretty terrible start though, losing four and drawing one of their first five Premier League matches, however, they recovered well to finish 11th in the table.Win rate: 0 per cent9Leicester City – King Power Stadium (2002)
The opening of the then-branded Walker’s Stadium in July 2002 was a bit of a PR disaster as Leicester had been relegated out of the Premier League only a couple of months earlier. Not even Gary Lineker opening the ground with a giant pair of scissors could save the embarrassment!Their record in their first five games was exceptional though, winning all of them. In fact, they only lost two at home all season as they won promotion back to the top flight.Problems on and off the pitch occurred at the club in future years before they pulled off a spectacular Premier League title triumph in the 2015/16 season.Win rate: 100 per cent9Hull City – KCOM Stadium (2002)
It’s a brave decision to move into a new stadium with a capacity of over 25,000 when you’re playing in the fourth tier of English football but that’s what Hull did in December 2002 when they moved into the KC Stadium, now the KCOM Stadium.However, the Tigers enjoyed a brilliant rise up the divisions and were promoted to the Premier League in 2008.As for their first five league matches, Hull had an indifferent record of winning two, drawing two and losing one – in that order as well.Win rate: 40 per cent9Manchester City – Etihad Stadium (2003)
City left their famous Maine Road ground to move into a new arena fit for Premier League champions in time for the 2003/04 season – even if they didn’t know just how big a club they were going to become years later.Their first Premier League match was a flat 1-1 draw to Portsmouth but their record was acceptable – winning two, drawing one and losing one of their next four fixtures at the ground where athletics happened during the 2002 Commonwealth Games.But times change and winning only two out of five home league matches would be not too far off a sackable offence for any manager in charge of City now!Win rate: 40 per cent9Swansea City – Liberty Stadium (2005)
The first Premier League ground in Wales was opened in July 2005 when Swansea were playing in League One in the 2005/06 season so their record was pretty good – winning three, drawing one and losing one.However, it wasn’t long before the elite teams would come to the Liberty Stadium, with Swansea getting promoted to the Championship in the 2007/08 season and then the Premier League in the 2010/11 season.Win rate: 60 per centArsenal –Emirates Stadium (2006)
Arsenal left their beloved Highbury at the end of the 2005/06 season after snatching Champions League football off Tottenham on the final day of the previous campaign.However, the Gunners did not take to their new home well at the start as they could only manage two wins and three draws during their opening five Premier League matches. And those wins came against newly-promoted Sheffield United and Watford.Win rate: 40 per cent9Cardiff City –The Cardiff City Stadium (2009)
Cardiff outdid their Welsh rivals Swansea when they built a new stadium in May 2009 which has a capacity of over 28,000 compared to the Liberty Stadium which has a capacity of of just over 25,000.The Bluebirds were in the Championship at the time and managed to win three but lost two of their opening five league matches at the new arena.They finished fourth that season but lost in the play-off final to Blackpool before winning promotion to the top flight in the 2012/13 season.Win rate: 60 per centBrighton – Amex Stadium (2011)
Brighton’s Amex Stadium was opened in time for the 2011/12 season as they looked to make that jump from the Championship to the Premier League.9West Ham United –London Stadium (2016)
As part of Lord Sebastian Coe’s big drive to ensure the Olympic legacy would last, West Ham inherited the Olympic Stadium from the 2012 games, moving in for the 2016/17 season.9Odds slashed on Matthijs de Ligt to Liverpool transfer Anfield HQ (Weblog) 11:16 6-Jun-19 Odds slashed on Ajax wonderkid joining Liverpool this summer talkSPORT 10:38 6-Jun-19 Barcelona planning 'minimum four signings', may increase depending on outgoings Sport Witness 09:44 6-Jun-19
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