NFL Builds Their Own Field at London Soccer Stadium

The NFL doesn’t appear ready to surrender their dreams of European expansion anytime soon. Proof of that comes in the form of a football-only field at a brand new London soccer stadium.

The National Football League has purchased a field and arranged for it to be permanently kept on the grounds of the new stadium being built for the Tottenham Hotspur. This will allow the field to be quickly switched out for football, whenever the stadium is not being used for futbol.

As Pro Football Talk explains:

One of the complaints about American football in London has been that the type of grass pitch that soccer teams use does not have the proper footing for American football. That results in players slipping and sliding, and the middle of the pitch getting torn up. Nobody is happy with that.

So the NFL is investing in a field that is specifically designed for American football. That field will be used for the first time on October 14, when the Seahawks face the Raiders.

This type of investment clearly shows the NFL is thinking long-term about their presence in England. Whether that materializes in the basing of an NFL franchise there, remains to be seen. What it means for now, however, is that several American fanbases are going to have to set their alarm clocks very early at least once a year, for the foreseeable future.

Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn