Atlanta United President Darren Eales is part of the Falcons party flying to London for Sunday’s NFL game against the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a venue with which he has some familiarity.
Before Eales joined the expansion MLS club in 2014, he worked as director of football administration for Spurs, which at the time was in the design phase for its new stadium. It opened in 2019. Eales said he will get to see his parents again as well as his boss at Spurs, Daniel Levy.
“I‘m going to be stopping by Spurs on Friday to catch up with people there,” he said. “So it’s going to be cool just to be back there again. I think of the stadium that was being designed when I was there. Now getting to see actually for a game and with the Falcons play is pretty cool.”
The stadium cost more than $1 billion to construct and includes a retractable grass with a synthetic turf field underneath, which allows it to host multiple events. Sunday’s game will be the third for the NFL at the stadium. There is another scheduled between Miami and Jacksonville on Oct. 17.
It will be the second American football game Eales has seen in the stadium. He watched the Panthers play the Buccaneers in 2019. It also will be Eales’ first extended time in London since the COVID-19 pandemic started. He had an in-and-out trip a few weeks ago to see his parents.
This trip will be a mix of business with corporate partners and some fun.
“I think there’s a pub crawl involved, which I think they need my input as an Englishman to navigate their way through London,” he said.
The group also will visit Abbey Road Studios, where artists such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Amy Winehouse, Adele and and Oasis have recorded.
“It’s going to be awesome,” he said.
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