West Ham’s Olympic Stadium Deal Folds

drugs helvetica, sans-serif;”>West Ham United FC initial deal to have the Olympic Stadium after London 2012 has folded after mounting concerns about legal challenges over the bidding process, the British government said today.

West Ham had not signed any contracts with the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) meaning the $760 million stadium will instead remain in public ownership after the Olympics and be rented out to the winner of a new bidding process.

The battle for control of the stadium has been fiercely disputed since West Ham was selected ahead of London rival Tottenham in February to be the preferred long-term tenant.

British sports minister Hugh Robertson said: “The action we have taken today is about removing the uncertainty—the process had become bogged down in legal paralysis. 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.”

London’s High Court had approved Tottenham’s request to mount a full legal challenge against the decision by West Ham’s local authority to provide a $63 million loan to fund the second-tier club’s move into the stadium.

Fourth-tier east London club Leyton Orient was also challenging the decision, while an anonymous complaint to the European Commission about the apparent use of Newham Council funds by West Ham fueled concerns that the legal disputes could drag on for years.

Robertson also said the Olympic Park Legacy Company received a letter from Newham on Monday saying that “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 it tracks now,” Robertson said.

But West Ham said it will bid again under the new terms that could be more financially favorable for the east London club, which was relegated from the Premier League in May.

Karen Brady, West Ham vice-chairman said: “Uncertainty caused by the anonymous complaint to the European Commission and ongoing legal challenges have put the Olympic legacy at risk and certainly a stadium, as we envisioned it, may not be in place by 2014 due as a direct result of the legal delay,” Brady said. 

“Therefore we would welcome a move by OPLC and government to end that uncertainty and allow a football and athletics stadium to be in place by 2014 under a new process. 

“If the speculation is true, West Ham will look to become a tenant of the stadium while Newham will aim to help deliver the legacy.

“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.”

Some $55 million has already been earmarked under the Olympic budget to downsize the stadium from an 80,000- to a 60,000-seat facility after the games.

One certainty is that the running track will remain in the stadium regardless of the outcome, with London bidding to host the 2017 world athletics championships.

“It’s fantastic for UK Athletics and it is a bold and decisive move by the legacy company,” UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said.

West Ham had planned to retain the running track after leaving Upton Park, but Tottenham proposed knocking down most of the stadium and building a 60,000-seat, soccer-only venue on the same site without any athletics legacy. With London bidding for the 2017 Athletics World Championships centering around the stadium, the track is essential to the bid