Westfield versus West Ham: coming to the Olympic Stadium soon

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westham.jpgSo West Ham's new owners are confident that the government will rubberstamp a move to the 2012 Olympics Stadium.
On the face of it David Sullivan and David Gold's aspirations for the Hammers to play in the 80,000-seat stadium after the Games ends is the ideal solution for all concerned.
The new owners have been quick to point out the club's dire financial situation and a move from the 35,000-capacity Upton Park would massively swell the coffers.
"If we could get this huge ground, we could take football back to the people," Sullivan said. "We could reduce the admission prices to the cheapest in the Premier League because we would have the capacity to do it."

And the government would have the top-level sporting anchor tenant that the building needs if it is not to become a Dome-like White Elephant.
Sullivan has obviously been talking to someone in government about it too.
"We don't want to buy (the Olympic Stadium), we want to rent it. The government promised to keep it alive for 30 years, it's going to cost them more to keep it alive. With us it's going to cost them nothing - we would pay all the running costs," he says.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company is giving nothing away but is sure to be interested. A spokeswoman told me: "We have seen the story. Nothing is ruled in or out yet."
Still, even at this early stage there are a few problems that need to be overcome if this perfect solution is to really have some legs.
Firstly the government is committed to creating an athletics environment for east London at the stadium. Sullivan clearly is not.
"I don't think running tracks work, particularly behind the goal," says Sullivan. "The customers are so far back it doesn't work.
Secondly, it is widely known that Westfield is not best-pleased at the idea of a load of hairy football types turning up every other Saturday to a site immediately adjacent to its new Stratford City shopping centre. The Australian developer will no doubt be hoping these latest plans go away.

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This page contains a single entry by Paul Norman published on January 19, 2010 4:30 PM.

ITV linked to Olympics media centre - again was the previous entry in this blog.

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