London 2012

[Goonerblue]

This report on the London Olympic site by Kevin McCloud (presenter of Grand Designs tv programme on C4 and ABC) appeared recently in the Daily Telegraph and is currently available in print in Australia in 'The Telegraph' (No. 991, 21-27 July 2010) weekly newspaper for UK ex-pats:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/others ... -site.html

[Timbo]

West Ham United has been selected as the preferred club to move into the Olympic Stadium in east London after the 2012 Games.

Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) executives chose the club's bid over a rival proposal from Tottenham Hotspur.

The decision must now be ratified by two government departments and the mayor of London, possibly next week.

The vote in favour of West Ham's bid for the £537m venue was unanimous. It was judged to provide the best legacy.

Spurs' plan was widely criticised because it would involve knocking down the stadium and building a new one.

The club intended to pay for an expansion of the athletics facility in Crystal Palace, rather than keeping a legacy for the sport in Stratford.

West Ham, currently bottom of the Premier League, will keep athletics in east London and leave the running track untouched.

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Denise Lewis wants the stadium in Stratford to become a "beacon" for athletics

Baroness Ford, head of the OPLC, said: "We have made a unanimous recommendation to back West Ham and the borough of Newham as the long term tenant.

"This represents the very best legacy for the stadium.

"It is cracking for the communities of east London and a really good outcome for sport."

Baroness Ford claimed that, contrary to reports the recommendation was a foregone conclusion, it was a tough decision.

She said: "I pay tribute to both bids. They have each put the most enormous amount of effort into bringing the bids forward.

"We were thrilled to have two robust competitors."

A Spurs spokesman said: "We provided a first class proposal to support the sustainability of the whole project.

"It was never an option, however, that we would retain the running track as we believe this unacceptable for our supporters.
Continue reading the main story
London view

* Sport, news and more 2012 information

* BBC London 2012
* David Bond: Did Legacy Company get it right?

"Much has been made of the promise to keep the track and therefore we expect to see this legally guaranteed."

The club added the deal was not yet concluded and it would "monitor the situation".

West Ham are yet to comment.

A joint statement from Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles read: ''Today's recommendation by the OPLC board marks an important milestone for the future of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the whole Olympic project.

"We will look through their recommendation in detail before coming to our own decision.

"We aim to make a formal announcement to Parliament shortly."

It is considered highly unlikely that the government and Mayor of London Boris Johnson will not now rubber stamp the recommendation.
Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) executives Baroness Ford, head of the OPLC, (r), said it was a "cracking" result for east London

Reacting to the announcement, Mr Johnson wrote on Twitter: "Significant step forward today for the Olympic Park. Long-term future looking good."

Ken Livingstone, Mr Johnson's rival in the 2012 mayoral election, said: "This is the right decision for Londoners, the right decision for sports fans and athletes and the right decision for those who are working to deliver a long-term Olympic legacy for the capital.

"Today's decision will ensure we fulfil promises that the capital will retain a world class athletics stadium at the Olympic Park which will inspire future generations."

UK Athletics boss Ed Warner also welcomed the decision.

He said: "The pledges have been met and there will be a long-term athletics legacy in the Olympic Park.
£95m project

"We now have a fantastic opportunity to ensure it continues to inspire for generations to come."

It is expected to cost about £95m to convert the venue from an 80,000 seat stadium to a 60,000-seat venue for football, athletics and cricket.

The Olympic Delivery Authority is to give £35m of that to West Ham, while most of the remaining funds have been provided by a £40m loan arranged by Newham Council.

But Lord Sugar, former chairman of Spurs, has previously said the West Ham plan is "totally flawed" and predicted the stadium would become "a white elephant".
Spurs supporters There was a vocal campaign in Tottenham against the move

"It will be a disaster for the taxpayer and we'll end up having a mothballed Olympic village," he said ahead of the announcement.

The entertainment company AEG, who were partners in the Spurs bid, predict the stadium will go bust within a decade if it retains an athletics track.

But there was jubilation in north London among Spurs supporters who had campaigned against the club leaving its historic area.

Tim Framp, of Tottenham supporters' group We Are N17, said: "Our initial reaction to the news is one of relief.

"We don't want to be in any part of London apart from the bit we belong in."

Tottenham MP David Lammy told BBC Sport: "Spurs leaving would be devastating for the local community.

"It's hard to put into words how important Spurs is."

Haringey Council also praised the decision. It stressed that Spurs have planning permission for a new stadium at the White Hart Lane site and said building could "start almost immediately".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12424549

[IanRitchie]

awesome, a football ground with an athletics track.

at least it'll suit when they get relegated.

[Jeffles]

I think the fans may take issue but I reckon within ten years they'll boot the track once WHU become entrenched there.

[beastjim]

OPLC would want to write something pretty strong into the contract so that doesn't happen then (from their point of view, which is about the Athletics legacy)

[hot_dogma]

Are Hammers fans for or against this move?

[Jeffles]

They should be pisssed off if they were a good judge. Death to running tracks and all that.

If they keep the running track, Crystal Palace could look into cashing in on Sellhurst Park and moving into Crystal Palace Athletics Centre, sans track.

[kilonewton]

They're looking at retractable seating options to minimise the effect of the track. Hammers fans, at least the vocal ones, aren't overly happy, but the neither were Spurs fans at the idea of moving there.

Palace have released plans to move back to Crystal Palace, new stadium sans athletic track. They're happy that the Spurs plan didn't get up.

Leyton Orient have threatened legal action, of sorts, as its somewhere in the league rules that any move of stadium should not adversely affect another club. West Ham wanting to fill a 60k stadium means cheaper tickets. Although Orient have floated the idea of moving into the Hockey Stadium. Don't know whether they want to take over the temporary one, or the legacy one. The legacy one is closer to Brisbane Road.

[the crow]

they should just dig the ground down post olympics to include more seats up to the edge of the football field. should get an additional 10 - 15 rows at least.

[hot_dogma]

What kind of crowds do Orient currently pull?

Didn't the Brisbane Road pitch get rotated 90 degrees?

[kilonewton]

They get under 5k, and don't think so. They built flats in the corners to pay for the three stands they redeveloped. Away fans get put in the old stand, which runs along one side.

[kilonewton]

And the saga rolls on....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15251893

London 2012: West Ham Olympic Stadium deal collapse

By David Bond

BBC sports editor

The deal to award West Ham the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games has collapsed, the government has confirmed.

The board of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) has ended negotiations amid concerns over delays caused by the legal dispute with Tottenham.

The OPLC, government and Mayor of London have instead agreed the stadium will remain in public ownership.

West Ham welcomed the move and said it would bid to be the stadium tenants.

Any interested bidders will have to submit proposals by January.

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said: "The key point is the action we have taken today is about removing the uncertainty. The process had become bogged down in legal paralysis.

"Particularly relevant has been the anonymous complaint to the EC over 'state aid' and the OPLC received a letter from Newham Council yesterday saying because of the uncertainty they no longer wanted to proceed.

"That was the straw that broke the camel's back and we thought it better to stop it dead in its tracks now.

'Not a white elephant'

"We know there is huge interest in the stadium out there from private operators and football clubs and, crucially, we remove any uncertainty.

"This is not a white elephant stadium where no one wants it. We have had two big clubs fighting tooth and nail to get it.

"The new process will be more like how Manchester City took over the Commonwealth Games stadium, which is regarded as a leading example of how to do it."

A fund of £35m has been set aside from public money to convert the 80,000-capacity stadium at Games time to a 60,000-seater venue afterwards.

West Ham United and Newham council said in a joint statement: "Our bid is the only one that will secure the sporting and community legacy promise of the Olympic Stadium - an amazing year-round home for football, athletics and community events of which the nation could be proud."

Both Tottenham and Leyton Orient launched a legal challenge against the original decision to award the stadium to West Ham.

Following the collapse of the negotiations, Leyton Orient's chairman Barry Hearn said: "This represents a total victory for Leyton Orient football club and we are delighted."

Tottenham is yet to respond to the government's confirmation that West Ham's original deal with the OPLC had collapsed.

The post-Games stadium will be capable of hosting major athletics events and Premier League football.

That opens the possibility for Championship football club West Ham and their bid partner Newham Council to submit a new, lower risk proposal which could still see them move in after London 2012.

With West Ham's finances under strain following their relegation from the Premier League last season, the new arrangement could be much more attractive as it would only cost about £2m a year to lease the stadium.

That money will help offset estimated running costs of more than £5m a year.

Spurs are seeking a judicial review of the earlier decision to let West Ham buy the stadium and the next hearing at the High Court was due to be held next Tuesday.

And despite London Mayor Boris Johnson's ultimatum to Spurs last week to settle the dispute before next Tuesday and accept a funding package to help redevelop their White Hart Lane ground, the OPLC had lost confidence in a quick resolution.

Following the latest development, Mr Johnson said: "I am confident that this decision is the best way to ensure we have certainty over the stadium's future.

"We will keep it in public hands but we will effectively rent it to a football club, almost certainly West Ham, and that will cover the costs and I think it will be a very good deal for the taxpayer."

The clock is ticking for the OPLC because it has set a deadline of 2014 for the new tenants of the stadium to move in.

For that to happen, planning permission must be submitted by March 2012 to ensure work starts immediately after the Games.

The other catalyst for the U-turn is London's bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championships.

Last week's visit of the inspection team from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was dominated by the continuing uncertainty over the stadium's future and, in particular, the running track.

With London facing a real contest against Doha in November's vote, the government and mayor wanted to send a strong message to the IAAF that they are committed to staging the event in the Olympic Stadium.

Ed Warner, chair of the UK Athletics board, said: "I think this is a bold and decisive move by the legacy company, supported obviously by the mayor and the government.

"It means the stadium will open for athletics in the summer of 2014, which was always the plan."

Former Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said the new arrangement honoured the long term legacy pledge made during the bidding process.

She said: "The important result here is certainty, is that there is no blight caused by these negotiations - continuing negotiations driven by legal process with Tottenham - and that the communities of east London have the guarantee of access to the Olympic stadium after the Games."

But the latest twist to the controversial saga will raise serious questions about how such an important decision could be thrown back into confusion with just 10 months to go to the Games.

There will also be concerns over why another £35m of public money is going to be poured into a stadium which has already cost over £500m.

Jim Fitzpatrick, Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse, said he was "very disappointed" by the new decision on the stadium but believed West Ham's plans were "much more focused" than others.

[the crow]

White mammoth then?