Tottenham receive £175 million loan from British government amid pandemic

On Thursday, Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur confirmed they've borrowed £175 million from the British government as part of the COVID Corporate Financing Facility amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Via an official club statement, Spurs announced: 

"The facility, which will not be used for player acquisitions, has been arranged to ensure we have financial flexibility and additional working capital during these challenging times. The Club has opened a multi-use venue designed to deliver diversified revenue streams and created jobs, homes and schools as part of the regeneration of our neighbourhood. We are ever-conscious of the responsibility we bear to ensure the future stability of our Club for all stakeholders and, in doing so, support our communities and our continued investment in the area."

Chairman Daniel Levy said:

"We have always run this Club on a self-sustaining commercial basis. I said as early as 18 March that, in all my 20 years at the Club, there have been many hurdles along the way but none of this magnitude – the COVID-19 pandemic has shown itself to be the most serious of them all.
“It is imperative that we now all work together – scientists, technologists, the Government and the live events sector – to find a safe way to bring spectators back to sport and entertainment venues. Collectively we have the ability to support the development of new technologies to make this possible and to once again experience the passion of fans at live events.”

As ESPN's James Olley noted, Tottenham's stadium was set to host more than football matches from March through the remainder of the year. Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev were to battle over the world heavyweight title at the venue, and the Jacksonville Jaguars were scheduled to host a pair of regular-season NFL games during the fall. 

The NFL canceled all international dates because of the pandemic in May. 

Spurs also offered a pro-rata refund for season-ticket holders. It's believed fans may not be welcomed back to stadiums for up to a year. 

Olley added: 

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Spurs recorded the highest pre-tax profit of any Premier League club for last season, totaling £87.4m -- a figure achieved by reaching the Champions League final without adding to their first-team squad.