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West Ham's hopes of striking a deal to move into the 2012 Olympic Stadium after the Games received a huge boost today when British athletics chiefs put their official support behind the east London club's bid.
UK Athletics Chairman Ed Warner, who last week dismissed a rival bid from Tottenham Hotspur and 02 owners AEG as "an insult to the whole Olympic project", said he had talked to several bidders.
But Warner has now decided to put all of his support behind the plans of West Ham, Newham Council and entertainment giant Live Nation.
Mr Warner said:
"What has impressed me so much about the joint bid from West Ham and Newham is their clear commitment to the spirit of the Olympic legacy and not just athletics at the elite end, but with the retention of the community track, our future champions and club runners too."
"It was clear from the start that only a partnership approach would bring to life the vision Seb Coe had when he committed to an athletics legacy in 2005 and we believe the collaboration of West Ham, Newham and UKA gives the strongest opportunity for a vibrant sporting legacy that will go well beyond 2012."
AEG executives have been very bullish about their bid together with Tottenham. But their plans not to leave an athletics track in the stadium angered Warner and I understand relations between UK Athletics and the entertainment company have been very strained.
London 2012's bid promised a major athletics legacy. The stadium is at the centre of Britain's bid for the 2015 world athletics championships and 2012 chairman Seb Coe's career in international athletics politics would be severely damaged if London was left with no legacy in the sport.
Live Nation, a serious rival to AEG which organises more than 20,000 concerts around the world every year, now looks in a much stronger position to snatch the stadium away from the 02 owners.
If Live Nation also takes over an indoor arena at the Olympic Park, it will make east London a music business battleground and the 02's position as the world's top music venue would come under pressure.
Tottenham are still keen to go ahead with their plans for a new stadium at White Hart Lane but the club appeared to be using the Olympic Stadium as another serious option because of hurdles to the north London project.
But Warner said West Ham's support for the 2015 World Championship bid was important.
West Ham United Vice-Chairman Karren Brady added:
"This is fantastic news. We believe ours is the only bid that can deliver London's legacy commitment to the International Olympic Committee. UKA's endorsement is a powerful and highly-valued testament of that.
"Our plan is not just to have a new stadium for West Ham but a real sporting centre for London and the rest of the country. We want to create a home of sport, featuring two of the greatest sports, football and athletics, side by side where they can grow and flourish together both in terms of spectatorship and participation at every level.
UKA have been great in helping us develop that vision over the past eight months and, together with Newham Council, we are ideally placed to make our dream a reality."
UK Athletics are still struggling to convince the Government and Mayor Boris Johnson to support the world championship bid financially ahead of the Government's Spending Review on October 20. But it is very likely that some of the contingency cash from the �9.3 billion budget to build the facilities will be used for this.
UK Athletics needs London Mayor Boris Johnson and the Government to provide �8 million each to help stage the event.
This is a relatively small sum and it would be a huge embarrassment to 2012's pledge to stage major events in the stadium after the Games if it is not found.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adrianwarner/2010/10/uk_athletics_boost_for_west_ha.html
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