Spurs unveil footage of world’s first retractable pitch that rolls out and joins together like jigsaw on top of NFL turf
Spurs' new stadium will feature a field above a field with the grass soccer surface being rolled in over an American Football surface
TOTTENHAM have unveiled an incredible animation of a football pitch being wheeled out into their new stadium.
The North London club are currently in the middle of constructing their new ground, which they hope will turn them into one of the Premier League’s big boys.
But with the ground set to be dual use, with both American and association football being played on the ground, Spurs have had to come up with a design that allows them to use two surfaces.
NFL games used to be largely played on grass, but the trend has been towards artificial surfaces in recent years and few grounds now have turf.
But the beautiful game is played exclusively on grass at the top level, meaning Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has had to get designers to come up with a solution for having two surfaces.
The football surface will be wheeled in in three sections, on palates moved by 168 wheels.
Each of the three 3,000-tonne sections will have 33 turf trays on, fitted in what Spurs hope will be a seamless join between segments.
The process is set to be automatic, meaning the groundsman can call in the pitch with the touch of a button.
But perhaps the most amazing part of it all is how the touchline areas and tunnel area are fitted into position, that looks more like something from a Nasa space shuttle than a football ground.
The tunnel area has to be raised to meet the pitch, while the touchline area is also adjusted on hydraulic flaps.
And the club have been testing the mechanism at their training ground, with Sheffield firm SCX providing the nuts and bolts of the operation.
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The Yorkshire company also created the incredible roof at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, where players can play whether it’s rain or shine.
And they are doing the same with No1 Court at SW19, which was under construction during this year’s tournament.
Reports earlier this week suggested the new ground will be named after American delivery company FedEx.
