NFL in London: New Tottenham stadium points to bright future despite the delay

The NFL would sell out in minute in London if they played on Hackney Marshes. Without fail, every American football game here is packed to the rafters.

That is why it is a major cause of regret for Tottenham that they are missing out today on what might have been called their first Given Sunday.

Building delays mean that the fixture between the Oakland Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks is taking place at Wembley instead of marking the beginning of a brave new era at the new Tottenham stadium, which still isn’t finished.

It is not a major problem for the NFL. Wembley will be rammed once more, as it will for the subsequent games this month between Tennessee Titans and LA Chargers and then Philadelphia Eagles meeting Jacksonville Jaguars.

Spurs will get there in the end with the construction work, too, and in 10 years’ time, this autumn’s delay will barely register in the memory; in the great scheme of things, it’s a blip.

An embarrassing and infuriating one, for sure. But a decade from now when the football club is reaping the financial benefits of its fabulous new home – and it will be fabulous – and when there may be a permanent NFL London franchise installed there, the wait will surely have been worth it.

Still, it is a huge shame that there is not a showpiece occasion on the eastern side of north London today.

It would have highlighted to the world all the special facilities which have been installed along Tottenham High Road which may secure it a place as the new spiritual home of American Football in Europe.

These will include a synthetic playing surface for NFL use which will be housed beneath the main, retractable football pitch.

Huge changing, medical and media facilities have been built to accommodate the vast numbers of personnel involved in American football games.

There will even be “tailgate” parties at selected areas near the ground to follow the US tradition.

The club’s deal with the NFL is to stage at least two games per year for a 10-year-period. That has hit this early setback but the authorities in the US remain hugely committed to the package as they continue to spread the world globally about their sport.

It is now 11 hugely successful years since the game first came to Wembley, with Twickenham also having played host. The appetite here grows every year, with one headline this week suggesting it is harder to get a ticket for these events than it is to secure one for a concert by Beyoncé.

The move to Tottenham marks the beginning of the next step forward for the sport here – or it will, at least, next autumn rather than this one.

The irony is that as things stand, the city might have two venues for the sport in London with Shahid Khan, the owner of Fulham and Jacksonville, attempting to buy Wembley.

That plan may run aground on the objections of the FA council to the sale. If it does, the new Tottenham ground would stand alone as the prime venue in Europe for gridiron.

It would make the decision to take on the complex job of building a stadium capable of staging both football and NFL games a far-sighted one, even if it is a bit of a mess for now.

Any Given Sunday is the title of Al Pacino’s hit movie about the NFL, one of the best sports films ever made.

Just not today in N17, sadly.