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Revealed: Levy blasts City Hall as Tottenham Hotspur fears grow over new stadium funding

Tottenham Hotspur Chairman Daniel Levy has unleashed a stinging attack on the London Mayor and figures within Haringey Council as a row over funding for their £750m stadium threatens to bubble over.

In a leaked email revealed by the Evening Standard, the Spurs top boss said he was ‘embarrassed’ by how little interest City Hall had shown in the club’s new stadium development and the massive North London regeneration plans attached to the scheme.

Levy goes on to claim that the club have been ‘taken for granted’ by politicians for too long and that it required imminent assurances from Haringey Council and City Hall for it to be ‘given the confidence’ to continue its stadium development.

It is unclear what exactly these assurances are, but speculation in the past has hinted at disagreements regarding the affordable housing portion of the scheme and funding assurances from Haringey Council.

In the email seen by the Standard, which it says was sent on Sunday morning to City Hall aide Simon Cooper and Haringey Council Leader Claire Kober, Levy is reported to have said: “As one of the biggest construction projects in London the current administration has shown such little interest to date in the social and economic benefits that I am embarrassed when I hear the words being fed to the NFL by the GLA.”

The missive comes amid rumours that the club is facing a battle to secure funding from lenders for its new stadium, after the final cost has almost doubled since the project was announced.

It has been widely reported that the club is hoping to recoup a significant chunk of its £750m outlay by securing a high-profile naming partner in a £400m sponsorship deal, although a suitable corporate sponsor has yet to be found.

There were also rumours yesterday that ENIC Group, the company which owns a controlling stake in Spurs, would be forced to sell off a minority stake in the club to further support the development.

As work continues, Tottenham Hotspur are due to move out of their White Hart Lane home at the end of this season, taking up temporary residence at Wembley next year ahead of the planned 2018 opening of their new 61,000-seater stadium.

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