OPLC Say Orient Move to Co-Inhabit OP is ‘Inconceivable’

Chair of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), which awarded preferred bidder status for English Premier League soccer club West Ham to inherit the Olympic Stadium, Baroness Margaret Ford has warned it is inconceivable for League One side Leyton Orient to be allowed to move to Eton Manor after the London 2012 Games.

Barry Hearn, chairman of the English third-tier soccer side, has threatened legal action over West Ham’s proposed move, which was recommended, and has since been ratified by the Government and the Mayor of London.

He believes that the Premier League club’s move to the nearby venue could cost his League One club up to US$2.4m a year by attracting fans of his club to brighter lights of elite league action, with Orient being the closest club to the Olympic Park.

But Hearn has suggested he will drop his threat of legal action if the authorities help Orient build a new 15,000-seater stadium at nearby Eton Manor on the Olympic Park, currently being redeveloped and due to host three temporary swimming training pools for aquatics during the Olympics and then wheelchair tennis during the Paralympics.

The Eton Manor facilities, run by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, will be able to accommodate elite hockey events for up to 15,000 spectators, and while Lee Valley will have the definitive say on what happens at Eton Manor after London 2012, Ford is fully against the move.

Ford told the London Assembly: “I actually think that is inconceivable that you put two football stadia in the Olympic Park.

“I mean, this is much-needed recreational, employment and housing space for the area of East London.

“I made that point to the chairman of Leyton Orient when we wrote to him recently.

“This isn’t land that is up for grabs that is not earmarked for anything else.

“It is very clearly earmarked in the master plan for specific legacy purposes set out long ago.”

Hearn strongly favours a move to Eton Manor – he feels a financial settlement for Leyton Orient will not guarantee the survival of the club as young fans will slowly divert to West Ham.

Hearn stated earlier in the month: “To compete we would have to move out of the area completely or be housed in the Olympic Park itself.

“That way we could have the same facilities and transport links that West Ham would have and then there would be a level playing field for us to compete on.

“There are options such as moving into the hockey stadium or building a new venue at Eton Manor playing fields.

“These are real suggestions we are looking at to resolve this issue.”