Tottenham Pursue Legal Options Against West Ham OS Bid
February 14, 2011
After losing out in attempts to gain preferred bidder status for the Olympic Stadium, a crucial step in the process of the venue’s award, English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hotspur are pursuing legal action against rival bidders West Ham, to ensure their proposals are upheld.
A vital impact on the decision to award West Ham with the Olympic Park Legacy Comapny’s (OPLC) backing, was that the club had promised to ensure the athletics legacy, and in turn the running track, was kept at the stadium.
Tottenham’s joint bid with AEG consistently refuted that these plans would work and opted to offer a solution of ensuring an Olympic athletics legacy elsewhere, and the club are reportedly seeking assurances that theri rivals will not do away with their proposals to leave the track intact.
A statement from Tottenham read: “The Olympic Stadium site is an essential element in the creation of a viable Olympic Park and we know that, together with AEG, we provided a first class proposal to support the sustainability of the whole project.”
The statement added: “It was never an option, however, that we would retain the running track as we believe this to be unacceptable for our supporters and therefore wholly unviable in the long term…Much has been made of the promise to keep the athletics track within the Olympic Stadium and, therefore, we should all expect to see the retention of this track firmly embedded and legally guaranteed by those entrusted with this legacy commitment, today and in the future.”
The statement continued: “The OPLC’s decision has still to be approved by two Government departments and the Mayor’s Office. We shall continue to monitor the bid process over the coming weeks up until its final determination, whilst reviewing our position and holding discussions with our advisors. We shall spend time assessing our situation in respect of a new stadium and when we have any further information we shall update our supporters.”