March 21 – Barry Hearn, chairman of lower-league English club Leyton Orient, says he will give up his fight to move his club to the stadium used for the London 2012 Olympics if he loses a legal challenge into the bidding process.
Hearn is worried Orient could be wiped out of business if top-flight neighbours West Ham become sole tenants of the venue – three miles away from his League One club – and is seeking to groundshare.
The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has named West Ham as the preferred bidder to move into the venue, claiming the process had been “robust, fair and transparent”, and are now on the verge of agreeing a deal for the £429 million ($691 million/€528 million) venue with the Premier League club.
Hearn believes the LLDC has broken its own rules but says he will have to concede defeat if he loses his campaign for a judicial review. “That’s it, it must stop, I can’t do anything else,” he said. “I have fought a really good fight.”
“We are not being given a chance. We’ve had no opportunity to team with West Ham – they won’t even talk to us about it. I think I am going to get beaten in the end and that’s the sadness. What would have cured all of it if they had just said, the same as they do in Europe, alternate Saturdays. They have completely ignored that and they will put us out of business but there is only so far I can fight.”
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