POSTED: February 9th 2011
NewsUpdate
London track to stay as West Ham win fight for 2012 Olympic Stadium
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
ANNECY/LONDON, Feb 09: West Ham United appear to have won the increasingly bitter fight with Tottenham Hotspur to take over the London Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.
Sources close to the Olympic Park Legacy Company say that it will be recommended to decide in favour of the offer from the East London which would retain the athletics track. The formality of such a decision is expected to be confirmed by the OPLC board on Friday morning on the advice of chair Baroness Ford and chief executive Andrew Altman. They have spent the past week examining final submissions from both bids. A decision was postponed at the end of last month.
West Ham must still wait for the the decision to be ratified by two Government departments and London Mayor Boris Johnson. Tottenham had hinted that, in case of failing in their attempt to win ‘preferred bidder’ status, they might seek a judicial review.
White Hart Lane home
Chairman Daniel Levy and his board had proposed building a new stadium on the site which would mean ripping out the athletics track. However a majority of fans will be pleased at not having to uproot themselves from the club’s home at White Hart Lane in north London.
One potentially decisive factor to work in West Ham’s favour was a warning from LOCOG chairman Lord Coe that Spurs’ track-free plan would mean a betrayal of a promise made by the London team who won the Games hosting.
London had promised to create for the Games and then maintain a new home for major athletics events in Britain. Tottenham’s solution was to offer to upgrade and maintain a redeveloped athletics stadium at Crystal Palace.
The war of words was stepped up in the media this week with Mike Lee - promotional mastermind in London's winning bid - speaking up for Spurs in a long interview in The Guardian and then West Ham co-owner David Sullivan hitting back at Tottenham in the Standard.
Keywords · London 2012 · Olympic Stadium · West Ham · Tottenham · Coe
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