West Ham Olympic Stadium bid boosted by UK Athletics boss

By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year

May 9 – West Ham United have received encouragement that they will be able to take over the £537 million ($795 million) Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games from Ed Warner, the chairman of UK Athletics, who has claimed that their proposal is “very credible”.

Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, claims that whoever takes over the Stadium following the Olympics and Paralympics must accommodate athletics as he promised that as a legacy during the capital’s successful bid.

Premier League West Ham have joined forces with Newham Borough Council to put forward a plan that would ensure that athletics and football can co-exist in a Stadium that would be downsized from 80,000 to 50,000 after the Games.

Warner told BBC Radio 5 live’s Sportsweek: “West Ham have put their hat in the ring.

“It’s a very credible proposal and one worth looking at.

“It would work as a football stadium.”

More than 100 groups have indicated that they interested in taking over the Stadium, including the American entertainment giant AEG, who own the O2 Arena – the former Millennium Dome – and have turned into one of London’s most popular venues.

Warner said: I’m very excited about what it will be as a venue and there are some very interesting proposals coming forward.

“West Ham have already put their hat in the ring already, they haven’t formerly submitted their letter yet, but they are clearly very interested and working hard.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with them I think that it is going to be a very credible proposal and certainly one we could work with, there may well be others.

“Those people who said football won’t work in the Olympic Stadium haven’t stood in the middle of the Olympics Stadium, which I’ve done a number of times.

“If you stand in there you realise for an 80,000 stadium it is actually very compact and you could certainly reduce the capacity without cutting the infrastructure of the stadium.

“I think it will feel great as a football stadium and I speak as a football fan as well the chairman of UK Athletics.

“I think you’d find West Ham would cover the track in the winter season so it wouldn’t look like you had a track between you and the pitch.

“I think it works very well.

“You have to stand there and see it to believe it. I think West Ham have stood there, thought about it and really think it would work for them.”

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