Football and rugby clubs could team up to use the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games. The new bidding process to use the stadium after the Games opens on Tuesday. West Ham are favourites to become the tenants but the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) have confirmed they will accept a ground-share bid from a football and a rugby team, and that retaining the athletics track is non-negotiable.
The Liberty Stadium in Swansea, home to Swansea City and the Ospreys, is seen as a successful model of a ground-share scheme. The OPLC will also be open to selling the naming rights on the stadium, with the tenants receiving a cut of the income.
The original deal for West Ham to take over the stadium collapsed in October due to legal challenges from Tottenham and Leyton Orient, and under the new process the OPLC will spend around £95million on converting the stadium to a 60,000-seat venue for the new tenants. If the tenants want to have retractable seating over the running track, as West Ham are considering as part of their bid, they would have to cover those costs themselves.
The deadline for the bids is in March with a decision due in May, and the stadium reopened in 2014.Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said: ‘The Government is committed to securing a legacy from the Olympic Stadium, and wants to see it re-opening in 2014. ‘With the 2017 World Athletics Championship bid won, athletics will be at the heart of a multi-purpose venue that will also be a great asset to the local community. ‘The Olympic Stadium is an iconic venue and I am sure that it will attract interesting and exciting bids for its future use. ‘The OPLC will retain control of a number of days for the stadium. Some of these are reserved for athletics including the London Diamond League meeting, and others could be used for Twenty20 cricket, concerts and American football – talks have already been held with the NFL.
London mayor Boris Johnson, who said in October that West Ham would ‘almost certainly’ become the tenants, added: ‘Opening up the bidding to other interested parties now shows just how far ahead we are in planning a great future for east London long after the Games have left town.’
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Karren Brady has been quoted in her recent “Sun” article that it will be against Premium League rules to ground share with Rugby and that it will be a “no no” as far as West Ham are concerned.
with all the trouble and bad luck thats going with this stadium lets forget about it.
I THINK IT WILL BE A WHITE ELEPHANT ,YES I AGREE WE NEED BIGGER STADIUM BUT IS THIS REALLY THE WAY FORWARD ??
I AM NOT SO SURE .I THINK IT MIGHT BIGHT US IN THE ARSE AS THEY SAY LONG TERM