Sporting history was made in London on Wednesday night as the first purpose-built NFL stadium to be constructed outside of the United States was officially unveiled during Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Described as "utterly breathtaking" and a "true game-changer" the 62,000-seat Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will play host to two NFL regular season games in 2019 as part of a 10-year deal between the Premier League club and the NFL.
The £1 billion stadium was built with that vital NFL partnership in mind. The natural grass pitch can be rolled out to reveal a lower-placed (for better sight lines) artificial turf NFL field. There are also soccer locker rooms on one side of the stadium and NFL-specific locker rooms on the other side.
With those dual-purpose facilities in place, it is entirely conceivable that Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could play host to Premier League and NFL regular season games on the same weekend.
The NFL influence was certainly on display during Wednesday's home-opening Premier League win over London rivals Crystal Palace. There was plenty of pre-game fireworks and pageantry, leading to members of the media in attendance describing a Super Bowl atmosphere in north London.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is state-of-the-art and stunning. It comes complete with its own micro-brewery, 65-metre bar and first-class facilities that ensure every single seat has a tremendous view of the action being played out on the field below. Importantly, this industry-leading stadium will be at the very heart of a regeneration of the surrounding parts of London.
The NFL will see four regular season games played in London in 2019 - Chicago at Oakland, Cincinnati at Los Angeles Rams, Houston at Jacksonville and Carolina at Tampa Bay. Two of those games will be played at Wembley Stadium, which has been hosting regular season contests in London since 2007.
Venues, dates and kick-off times for those games will be unveiled later this month.
