Rival Premier League Clubs bid for Olympic Stadium
Fri 1st Oct 2010 | Football Stadiums & Facilities
West Ham Football Club submitted its formal bid to occupy the London 2012 Olympic Stadium once the games are over yesterday.
However a surprise joint bid by Tottenham Hotspur and US venue-operator AEG may well upset the Hammers plans, who looked favourites to take over the venue.
West Ham’s owners David Sullivan and David Gold have repeatedly voiced their desire to move into the stadium after the Olympics.
The club plans is to convert the stadium to a 60,000-capacity arena for football, athletics, concerts and community use.
West Ham's vice-chairman Karren Brady said: ‘The last thing anyone wants is for the Olympic Stadium to become a ghost of Olympics past. The only realistic solution is to make the stadium work for a Premier League football team and that should be West Ham United.’
But the surprise bid by Tottenham, who have reportedly been assessing a bid to take over the Olympic stadium for some months may be seen as tactical lever in protracted negotiations with local planning authority Haringey Council.
The north London club was due to hear if its plans had been approved to redevelop its existing White Hart Lane ground yesterday but its understood the Tottenham-AEG bid is “a sensible back-up option” to the redevelopment, according to a club insider.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said in a statement this morning: "I can confirm we have registered an interest in the Olympic Stadium site within the deadline of September 30, in conjunction with AEG (Europe), the world's largest entertainment and facilities management company.
"It is only prudent and good management that we ensure that we investigate all possible options for the club...We have always maintained that we wouldn't undertake any project that could undermine the overall financial stability and future success of the club and this shall remain our guiding principle going forward and in determining our best option in the interests of the club and all its fans and stakeholders."
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