West Ham get Olympic stadium nod

IMPRESSION: An artist's view of how West Ham's new home would look

WEST HAM UNITED has been confirmed as the preferred bidder to take over the Olympic Stadium in East London.  The Hammers saw off stiff competition from London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, to inherit the stadium after the Olympics in 2012.  Their plans to have a 60,000 stadium for major football matches, athletics events and concert gigs was seen by the OPLC (Olympic Park Legacy Company) as a better use of the stadium.  Tottenham’s plan had been to bulldoze the stadium, and turn it into a complete football stadium, using Crystal Palace as a redevelopment plan to host athletics events.

At a press conference yesterday, Baroness Ford, the chairman of the OPLC confirmed it was a unanimous decision.  “We had to inspect and take both bids into serious consideration, but our recommendation to the Mayor of London and ministers are that the Olympic Stadium is to be used by West Ham United.”  Although Boris Johnson still needs to ratify the decision, it would be a massive shock if the Mayor of London opposed the recommendation.

The battle to win the tenant rights to the stadium has been fraught to say the least.  All of the London 2012 team have been putting their full backing into West Ham’s bid.  Chairman of the bid, Lord Coe has always maintained that if Tottenham had got the nod, it would have broken promises made to the IOC (International Olympic Committee) when London won the right to host the games back in 2005. 

PONDERING: Daniel Levy is unhappy and is thinking about legal action

Tottenham seem unhappy with the decision.  Their chairman Daniel Levy is considering the possibility of legal action, as he feels the athletics track issue totally overshadowed the club’s bid.  Despite this, Ford denies this element and insists both bids were taken extremely seriously.  Lord Sugar, former chairman of Spurs has also slammed the OPLC decision, calling it “weak and gutless.” 

Some West Ham fans seem a bit cautious about the decision.  Yesterday morning, ex-Hammers defender Tony Gale told Sky Sports News of his pressing concerns.  “I worry that if West Ham get the stadium, it isn’t what the fans want.”  I’ve spoken to many supporters and not one person was for the move.”  However, Tottenham fans don’t seem as disappointed as the club’s board are, with one lifelong fan telling Sky News yesterday of his delight; “Every Spurs fan I know will be happy that we’re not going to Stratford – we were annoyed that Spurs even got involved.”

It seems like commonsense as prevailed, and hopefully, it will secure the long-term future of the Olympic Stadium after the games in 2012.  With West Ham’s struggles on the pitch well-documented, this is probably the best news they’ve had all season.  So, it would now be such a shame if such a promising venue would be hosting npower Championship football in two seasons time.  Maybe it’s time for the players to start playing for the shirt, to avoid this plight.