I am very angry that TfL intend to rename this station 'Tottenham Hotspur'.
How dare they? It's been called White Hart Lane for 147 years ever since the station opened, because it is actually on a street called White Hart Lane, and White Hart Lane it should stay. Tottenham Hotspur weren't even a thing in 1872, indeed that was the year of the very first FA Cup Final, so it would be hugely unfair for football to erase the station's long-standing neighbourhood identity. The whole thing makes me furious.
When Tottenham's home ground was called White Hart Lane nobody minded that the station was called White Hart Lane too, because both were named after the same street. But now that White Hart Lane stadium has been demolished and its replacement is to be called something else, hey presto Tottenham suddenly want to change the station's name to eradicate all mention of the old one. It's nothing less than shameless manipulation.
This particular rebranding exercise is nothing new, of course. The Evening Standard were reporting on Tottenham's evil intentions way back in 2016, along with a potential £12m price tag. What's intriguing is that latest reports suggest the payout's slumped to just £3m, the cost of changing all the signage at the station and along the line, bringing TfL no dividend whatsoever. More sickening is that most people's response has been "but that's not enough!" rather than "should we actually be doing this?"
Initially the new stadium will be called Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, because nobody else is willing to pay for the naming rights. Tottenham had hoped a major sponsor would come on board and pay them squillions, with Nike supposedly closely courted, but as yet nobody has said yes. By renaming the station the football club hopes to smooth the waters for another bidder, a station called Tottenham Hotspur being hugely more saleable than a station called White Hart Lane, but only because we live in a depressingly mercenary world.
"A unique brand partnership between TfL and Tottenham Hotspur would benefit both TfL and Tottenham, supporting significant investment to create a new sport, leisure and entertainment destination as part of the wider regeneration of the area."
We should be grateful that TfL aren't yet so commercially focused that they'd have been agreeable to calling the station Nike Central, William Hill, Easyjet Quarter or whatever. But this has never been a debate about what's best for the community, merely how best to leverage branding opportunities for a commercial development. How have we got to this stage? Why are we even having this discussion?
I am equally angry that TfL's predecessors decided to rename this station in 1932.
How dare they? It had been called Gillespie Road for 26 years ever since the station originally opened, because it is actually on a street called Gillespie Road, and Gillespie Road it should've stayed. Arsenal weren't even playing north of the river in 1906, so it was hugely unfair for chairman Herbert Chapman to have twisted the authorities into accepting a partisan identity for the tube station. If only London Transport had held firm and refused, there wouldn't now be this annoying precedent which makes Tottenham's name change look perfectly fair. The whole thing makes me incandescent.
That said, Arsenal station is on the cosmopolitan Piccadilly line, whereas White Hart Lane is a minor halt on one of the Overground's least exciting suburban branches, so Tottenham aren't exactly getting a good deal here. Also Arsenal station is used by 2.8 million passengers annually and White Hart Lane only 1.6 million, and Arsenal paid nothing for their 87-year headstart, so who's the winner now?
I'm also angry that West Ham managed to get a station on the District line named after their club, and another named after their former football ground, without refunding the taxpayer any money at all. Likewise Crystal Palace already have an Overground station named after their club, AFC Wimbledon are clearly named after the District line station of the same name and anyone who heads to Fulham Broadway station thinking it's near Craven Cottage will find themselves alongside Chelsea's massive stadium instead. Where's the justice in that?
Naming stations after football teams is the thin end of the wedge, which could eventually lead to stations renamed after cricket grounds like Oval or stations renamed after shopping centres like Surrey Quays or stations named after pubs like Swiss Cottage and basically where will it all end? Tottenham Hotspur's grab for naming rights sets an unwelcome precedent that makes me very angry, and I will not stop tutting until this ridiculous decision is reversed.
