POSTED: January 5th 2011
NewsUpdate
Tottenham sign Mike Lee to take London stadium fight to 'old club' West Ham
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
LONDON, Jan 05: Top sports spin doctor Mike Lee is back on the London 2012 beat. This time, having helped win the summer Games for the capital, he is focusing on the legacy – as far as the stadium is concerned.
Lee, London’s bid director of communications, has been appointed by Tottenham Hotspur to manoeuvre them to victory over ‘local’ West Ham United in the increasing bitter battle to take over the stadium after the Games circus has left town.
Ironically, Lee was formerly a director of West Ham under the club's previous Icelandic ownership regime.
Lee’s PR successes since London include helping win the 2016 Olympics Games for Rio de Janeiro and the 2022 World Cup for Qatar as well as the re-entry into the summer Games programme of rugby union.
The deadline for submission of conclusive bids for a stadium takeover to the Olympic Park Legacy Company is January 21. Within one further week the board is due to nominate a single ‘preferred bidder.’
Sports and local government financial experts generally believe that Tottenham, also considering building a new stadium close to their present Whie Hart Lane home in North London, have the more attractive financial case as well as a larger fan base.
Athletics track
West Ham, however, have the support of LOCOG organising chairman Sebastian Coe and Newham council, because they want to retain the athletics track in one form of another. The prospect of creating a new and permanent long-term home for athletics had been one of the planks of the original London campaign in which Lee played his key role.
Tottenham’s counter-offer, in conjunction with O2 owner AEG, is to fund a £200m redevelopment of the ageing national sports centre at Crystal Palace.
West Ham have complained at a lack of support from that the English football authorities. The club believe that not only their support base, but those of Leyton Orient, Millwall, Dagenham and Redbridge and Charlton, could be undermined by Tottenham’s ‘arrival’ in East London.
Keywords · London 2012 · Olympic stadium · Mike Lee · Tottenham · West Ham · Coe · Newham
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