West Ham United have been named as the preferred bidders for the Olympic Stadium, giving the East London club victory in their embittered battle with Tottenham Hotspur for the site in Stratford.
West Ham and Tottenham have fought a fierce battle for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford
GettyImagesWest Ham and Tottenham have fought a fierce battle for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford
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The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) confirmed on Friday morning that West Ham's proposal to occupy the stadium, and retain a running track, was deemed to best satisfy the criteria for providing an athletics legacy.
Tottenham had proposed to rebuild the venue as a football arena, as well as redeveloping Crystal Palace athletics stadium. However, the North London club, in conjunction with American entertainment company AEG, have seen their ambitions to move across the capital thwarted.
Instead it is West Ham who will move into the stadium located in their home borough of Newham, if Friday's decision is ratified by London mayor Boris Johnson and the national Government.
West Ham arrived victorious because they fulfilled all five criteria in the tender: value for money, ability to deliver, to reopen as rapidly as possible, to ensure the stadium remains "a distinctive physical symbol" and to allow "flexible use of the stadium" for elite sport, the public, schools and community groups.
West Ham plan to move in before the 2014-15 season and estimate it will cost in the region of £95 million to convert the stadium following the completion of the 2012 games. Bid partner Newham Council will contribute £40 million of that in the form of a loan, though it will not leave the taxpayer out of pocket.
A source close to the bid told ESPNsoccernet: "Newham are not giving £40 million, and it will not cost the tax payers £40 million. This is a complete misunderstanding of the joint West Ham United/ Newham bid. They are loaning the money to West Ham, and getting interest and total repayment of the £40 million.
"West Ham are actually giving the consortium £20 million from the sale of Upton Park. This is never repaid to West Ham. It's a good deal for Newham. As its a loan it in no way impacts on the council's budgets."
News that West Ham had been successful in their bid leaked out on Wednesday night, but Friday's news finally ends a dispute between the Hammers and Spurs that has become increasingly torrid.
In the past week alone, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy accused West Ham of "scaremongering", while Hammers vice-chairman Karren Brady said Spurs' plan to "bring the bulldozers in" was tantamount to "a corporate crime".
However, barring an unexpected political intervention, it is the Hammers who will move into the Olympic site in 2012, leaving Spurs to contemplate once again the redevelopment of White Hart Lane, or alternative options, as they seek to increase their financial muscle.
West Ham are planning a victorious press conference at a restaurant overlooking the Olympic Park, but Spurs will be pondering a potential judicial review in protest at missing out on the site.
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