[21] A groundsman at a local cricket club, John Over, was tasked with demolishing the greenhouses and preparing a playing surface for football.

It is however unclear how it became so-named; some thought that it acquired the name because spectators would first meet up at the White Hart Lane railway station, another suggestion is that it referred to the lane leading to the stadium entrance beside the White Hart pub later officially named Bill Nicholson Way.

[25] The first game at the Lane to mark its opening was a friendly against Notts County on 4 September 1899, with around 5,000 supporters attending, generating a gate receipt of £115.

[26] The first goal at the Lane came from Tommy McCairns of Notts County, followed by an equaliser from Tom Pratt and a hat-trick from David Copeland, ending in a 4–1 home win.

[27] The first competitive game on the ground was held five days later in front of an 11,000 crowd against Queens Park Rangers, which Spurs won 1–0 with the only goal scored by Tom Smith.

[29] White Hart Lane was redeveloped in the early 20th century, and its stands were rebuilt over a period of two and a half decades based on designs by the stadium architect Archibald Leitch.

[15] Built at a cost of £50,000, the West Stand opened on 11 September 1909 for Spurs' first home game in Division One, which was a match against Manchester United that ended in a 2–2 draw.

[31] The pitch was overlooked by a bronze fighting cock (the club symbol) that kept an eye on proceedings from the roof of the touchline stands.

[22] In the 1930s, football had a popular following, and despite Tottenham's relative lack of success at the time, 75,038 spectators squeezed into White Hart Lane in March 1938 to see Spurs' performance against Sunderland in the FA Cup.

[37] During the Second World War, Spurs shared the ground with rival Arsenal when Highbury was requisitioned by the government and used as an Air Raid Precautions centre.

[38] Tottenham became firmly established as one of England's biggest clubs that attracted some of the highest attendances in the country on a regular basis.

[citation needed] 1953 saw the introduction of floodlights, with their first use being a friendly against Racing Club de Paris in September that year.

[citation needed] In 1980, in a bid to improve facilities and upgrade what was then considered an outdated stadium, a new phase of redevelopment began that transformed the ground.

[24] The new West Stand opened 15 months later on 6 February 1982 for a match against Wolverhampton Wanderers, won by Spurs 6–1, with a hat-trick from Ricky Villa.

Work on the stadium continued in the summer of 1989 and the refurbished East Stand opened on 18 October 1989 for the North London Derby.

[47][48] Also as a response to the Hillsborough disaster, and the subsequent Taylor Report of 1990 that called for all-seater stadiums, standing areas were removed over the next few years, further reducing the capacity of the ground.

The renovation, and the addition of a second tier to the Members' (North) Stand on Paxton Road, was completed in 1998, leaving the stadium with a capacity of 36,240.

[51] Talks began over the redevelopment and future of White Hart Lane, and many stadium designs and ideas were mooted, including the possibility of Tottenham Hotspur moving home.

Ultimately the club's owners, ENIC Group, decided to focus solely on the ongoing redevelopment plan for White Hart Lane as part of the Northumberland Development Project.

[52] On 14 May 2017, White Hart Lane hosted its final match in a Premier League encounter between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

It ended in a 2–1 victory for the home side, securing the highest league ranking for Spurs since 1963, with goals from Victor Wanyama and Harry Kane.

[55] During the construction of the new Wembley Stadium, White Hart Lane hosted full England international matches, such as a 2–0 defeat to Holland.

[56] Following the opening of the rebuilt Wembley, the Lane was occasionally used to host England Under-21s international matches, most notably a 1–1 draw against France Under-21s.

[67] Tottenham's biggest ever win came at the stadium in an FA Cup tie against Crewe in February 1960, with a 13–2 final score.

The highest attendance recorded at The Lane was 75,038 for the Sixth Round FA Cup tie against Sunderland, 5 March 1938.

[75] Spurs pursued legal action over the ruling to give the Stratford stadium to West Ham United,[76] but later withdrew.

This involved a plan to build a new stadium, partly on the site of the existing White Hart Lane ground, and include leisure facilities, shops, housing, a club museum, a public space and also a new base for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.

This CPO was eventually issued in July 2014, giving approval for the new stadium scheme to proceed,[83] but was subject to an unsuccessful legal challenge by a business located within the proposed site in February 2015.

[84] On 8 July 2015, Tottenham announced brand new revised plans, including a larger 61,000 capacity, making it the biggest club stadium in London.

[85] The new plan also included a combination of 585 new homes, a 180-room hotel, an extreme sports building, a community health centre, enhanced public spaces and 'The Tottenham Experience' – an interactive museum and club shop complex incorporating the listed Warmington House.