Olympic Stadium Future, the Facts !
There are now only four organisations in the race to takeover the Olympic Stadium, who have all submitted bids before the deadline expired.
The final decision on who is successful should be announced in October 2012.
The four are :
West Ham United Football Club.
Leyton Orient Football Club.
University College of Football Business.
No Logo ? ! Intelligent Services in
Association with Formula 1.
The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is due to assess the four remaining bids before negotiations commence, a final decision is expected in October 2012.
The previous applicants to own the Olympic stadium had to be shelved due to legal wrangles.
Several parties were unhappy with the bid by West Ham United,Tottenham Hotspur, Leyton Orient and a anonymous party lodged a complaint indicating that West Ham did not have permission from the Football League to move stadiums, this even went to the European Court where the case was thrown-out.
To say there was a dirty tricks campaign by Tottenham Hotspur is a understatement . In January Scotland Yard arrested a Private Investigator who had been retained by Tottenham on
suspicion of fraud after allegedly obtaining the
telephone records of West Ham United's vice-
chairman Karren Brady (pictured). The Private
Investigator is currently on Police Bail while further investigations are carried out.
With the new bidding process in place the stadium will now be on a 99 year-long Lease with no out-right ownership. The £486m stadium will be reduced in capacity from 80,000 to 60,000 seats and will retain the running track, with the 2017 World Athletics Championship being held there.
West Ham United
If West Ham were successful
in their bid, they would move
around 4 miles from their
current stadium Upton Park,
(pictured) which has been home to the Hammers since
1904.
Karren Brady Vice-Chairman
has said that the decision has not been taken lightly and will only relocate if the new stadium meets West Ham's needs and also meets the demands of Premier League and European Football, now that the stadium is a lease option there will be no compromise.
She has also said that West Ham have been in close talks with fans and supporters, welcoming their opinons and concerns around the proposed move.
One main concern of the fans and supporters is the running track meaning that fans would be 50 - 60 yards from the pitch, which they feel would impact on the atmosphere of the game. West Ham are looking at installing re-tractable seating which would stretch across the running track. The fans point is justified , at Upton Park you are up close to the action on the pitch, which in turn creates an intimidating atmosphere for visiting teams , which they feel is important.
The new stadium would also offer more room for executive boxes and he corperate use of the stadium in the closed season,Concerts etc..
West Ham are also strongly opposed to sharing the stadium with any other organisations.
Asked on Twitter if the Hammers are looking at a ground share with any other club in th future, Co-Chairman David Gold replied " Absolutely Not ".
leyton Orient and Chairman Barry Hearne
Leyton Orient another contender are open to stadium sharing with their Chairman Barry Hearne (Promoter) indicating that a stadium share with West Ham would be the ideal scenario.
In 2010 - 2011 Leyton Orient had league attendances of just under 4,300 at Brisbane Road.
Hearne also said that if West Ham were successful in their bid and were sole lease holders it would be disastrous for the area,how he has reached this conclusion is beyond me.
A survey carried out by Leyton Orient with their fans and supporters found that a majority were strictly against any move.
Perhaps Mr Hearne is thinking it would be an ideal location for promoting his other interests and using Leyton Orient as a smokescreen , who knows.....
Intelligent Services in Association with Formula 1
Another bid is to transform the Olympic stadium into part of a Formula 1 track.
Plans for a Grand Prix circuit were tabled by Intelligent Services in conjunction with Formula 1.
Formula 1 Chairman Bernie Ecclestone told Reuters ' If they (ITS) were to get permission then we (Formula 1) would be more than happy to do something with them'. ' But we (Formula 1) have nothing to do with putting in a bid'. ( Not exactly committing himself.)
University College of Football Business
UCFB offers Degrees and Diploma's to students who are or wish to become involved in the Football Business, marketing , finance etc.
They are currently based at Burnley Football club's Turf Moor ground and are seeking getting a higher profile and feel the Olympic stadium would offer this.
They are a affiliate of Bucks New University.
So that's the four candidates bidding in this
competitive race for the Olympic Stadium.
Latest Update:
West Ham step up PR on Olympic stadium 14.8.12
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce (pictured) has added his view on the Olympic stadium. He said on Tuesday ' That if you look at past Olympic stadiums, they are White Elephants, standing unused with weeds growing there, look at Beijing and Athens. He continued ' The Olympic park is a fantastic place, but it can't be left to rack and ruin. If a club with the history, fanbase and potential of West Ham don't go there, the concern would be the park is left empty the majority of the time'.
The big question here is how suitable will it be for Premier League football and who will pay to make it so ?
There is around £50m set aside in the OPLC budget plus £40m from Newham council to turn the stadium into what the Local Authority describes as a suitable facility for the community. That almost covers the £100m costs. Come October it would be a surprise if West Ham weren't given the go-ahead.
I am a lifelong West Ham fan and can appreciate both sides of the arguments.
In my view there are three options open to West Ham :
Remain at Upton Park.
Move to the Olympic Stadium and make the necessary changes.
Build a purpose built Stadium.
At the end of the day it comes down to one thing...
Intelligent Services in Association with Formula 1
Another bid is to transform the Olympic stadium into part of a Formula 1 track.
Plans for a Grand Prix circuit were tabled by Intelligent Services in conjunction with Formula 1.
Formula 1 Chairman Bernie Ecclestone told Reuters ' If they (ITS) were to get permission then we (Formula 1) would be more than happy to do something with them'. ' But we (Formula 1) have nothing to do with putting in a bid'. ( Not exactly committing himself.)
UCFB offers Degrees and Diploma's to students who are or wish to become involved in the Football Business, marketing , finance etc.
They are currently based at Burnley Football club's Turf Moor ground and are seeking getting a higher profile and feel the Olympic stadium would offer this.
They are a affiliate of Bucks New University.
So that's the four candidates bidding in this
competitive race for the Olympic Stadium.
Latest Update:
West Ham step up PR on Olympic stadium 14.8.12
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce (pictured) has added his view on the Olympic stadium. He said on Tuesday ' That if you look at past Olympic stadiums, they are White Elephants, standing unused with weeds growing there, look at Beijing and Athens. He continued ' The Olympic park is a fantastic place, but it can't be left to rack and ruin. If a club with the history, fanbase and potential of West Ham don't go there, the concern would be the park is left empty the majority of the time'.
The big question here is how suitable will it be for Premier League football and who will pay to make it so ?
There is around £50m set aside in the OPLC budget plus £40m from Newham council to turn the stadium into what the Local Authority describes as a suitable facility for the community. That almost covers the £100m costs. Come October it would be a surprise if West Ham weren't given the go-ahead.
I am a lifelong West Ham fan and can appreciate both sides of the arguments.
In my view there are three options open to West Ham :
Remain at Upton Park.
Move to the Olympic Stadium and make the necessary changes.
Build a purpose built Stadium.
At the end of the day it comes down to one thing...
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