London Mayor Sports Commissioner backs West Ham Olympic Stadium move

By Tom Degun in London

September 7 – Kate Hoey (pictured right), the London Mayor’s Sports Commissioner, told the London Assembly at City Hall here today that she backs West Ham United’s proposal to move into the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games but warned that they must interact with the community.

She almost all of the Olympic Park in Stratford to be made available for community use following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games but admitted that such a target could be unrealistic.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), which was formed in 2009 and headed by Baroness Margret Ford, is charged of overseeing the long-term future and sustainability of the Olympic Park after the 2012 Games as well as deciding the future occupants of the venues on the site including the Olympic Stadium.

Hoey, the Sports Minister in Tony Blair’s Labour Government from 1999 until 2001, has urged the OPLC to make 90 per cent of the Olympic Park available for community use post 2012 leaving just 10 per cent for elite sport use and while acknowledging that such a split is unlikely to happen, she maintained that she will be fighting hard for it.

Hoey said: “The original target of 90 per cent of the Olympic Park being made available for community use after the Games actually came from the ODA (Olympic Delivery Authority) some time ago and though some people have strayed away from that figure, we have not.

“We may well not get the 90 per cent but I think if we’re not arguing for 90 per cent and wishing for 90 per cent, we could end up with an awful lot less.

“The venues being built in Stratford are obviously designed with elite sport in mind so it is not straight forward or cheap to convert them for community use but it is vital that a large part of the Olympic Park is available for the community after 2012 or we would have missed a real opportunity to create a lasting legacy for people in the area.”

Hoey added that she would be pleased to see the Olympic Stadium occupied by a football club so long as they interacted heavily with the community around the Stratford area.

Hoey said: “I don’t know what is going to happen to the Olympic Stadium, but I would say that if it is given to a football club that it is absolutely crucial that they fully integrate with the community.

“I’ve been involved with various football clubs over my career as an educational advisor and I am well aware of the good work they do outside of football matches.

“They are humming during the day and they are busy, busy places.

“There are thing going on underneath the surface like nurseries, community development projects and all sorts of other things so there is absolutely no reason that whoever takes the stadium shouldn’t be doing that.

“That is really part of the agreement in taking it on.

“It is so annoying when you go to a football stadium and see it empty when there is all that space that could be used and I do not want to see that happen at the Olympic Stadium.”

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