BPL club to help rebuild Tottenham
Posted August 8, 2011 12:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — Premier League football club Tottenham offered Monday to help rebuild the disadvantaged north London neighbourhood after a weekend of riots and looting.
The violence erupted Saturday evening near White Hart Lane after a peaceful protest against the fatal police shooting of a man in disputed circumstances degenerated into a rampage.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said the club is “deeply saddened” by the weekend rioting, which saw buildings in the area torched and police officers injured.
“The club is committed to supporting its community with help with both the physical clean up of our area and the longer term rebuilding of the community spirit,” Levy said in a statement. “It is more critical than ever that community, business and political leaders — local and national, public and private — now work closely together to support the regeneration of this area and we shall certainly look to play our part in that.”
The damage at White Hart Lane was limited to a ticket office, which remains closed. But stadium tours have been cancelled for “safety reasons,” Tottenham said.
Tottenham is due to host Everton on Saturday in its Premier League opener.
But there has also been anger directed against the club among locals since Levy unveiled plans last year to bid for the right to move into the Olympic Stadium in east London after the 2012 Games. Although the stadium was awarded to rival club West Ham, Tottenham is still challenging that decision in court.
The club also announced last month that it was looking to resurrect plans to build a new stadium next to its current home by applying for public funding.
Levy did not directly refer to the club’s future in Tottenham in Monday’s statement condemning the weekend violence.
