Olympic Stadium

[Muguire]

I saw something earlier today from the chap that designed the stadium, and he too admitted the arena wasn't suitable for football. The stands are too shallow. Anyone in the bottom tier is quite literally fcuked. Even the top tiers are shallow and make it near impossible to add to and amend later. You would have to knock the stands down and start again, which is against the whole Legacy idea.

I call shambles.

[Rev Algenon Stickleback H]

I saw something earlier today from the chap that designed the stadium, and he too admitted the arena wasn't suitable for football. The stands are too shallow. Anyone in the bottom tier is quite literally fcuked. Even the top tiers are shallow and make it near impossible to add to and amend later. You would have to knock the stands down and start again, which is against the whole Legacy idea.

I call shambles.

The thing was designed as an athletics stadium, so it's not exactly a shock it's not suitable for football. The whole idea behind it was to make it cheap, and that meant shallow tiers a long way from the track so you'd need less structure. West Ham moving there would be a disaster, especially when they are really just one stand away from rebuilding Upton Park to be perfect for them.

[TFF]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17629661

West Ham's latest bid to move into the Olympic Stadium is "fundamentally flawed" and should be disqualified, according to Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn.
West Ham have declared their renewed application to move from Upton Park after the collapse of their original attempt following legal challenges from Orient and Tottenham Hotspur.
The Championship club have applied for a 99-year lease of the stadium, but Hearn is now demanding the bid is rejected.
"I am 100% certain that West Ham do not have the permission of the Football League, a fundamental criteria of the bid process" Hearn told the BBC.
"The Olympic Park Legacy Company [OLPC] have no choice but to disqualify them."In December 2011 the OPLC listed certain minimum requirements for bidders, including "governing body consent".
According to the OPLC's Invitation to Tender document: "Each bidder who proposes content of a sporting nature must have written confirmation from the relevant governing body that the said governing body supports fixtures being played at the stadium..."
Hearn believes West Ham failed to meet that condition by 23 March, the deadline for bids.
"We have now, through our lawyers, written to the OPLC, asking if this clause was satisfied as we believe it wasn't, and we've asked for West Ham's bid to be disqualified," he said.
Hearn says he is now writing to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Sports Minister Hugh Robertson.
Leyton Orient are challenging the legality of the Premier League's decision last year to allow West Ham to move to the stadium on the basis it failed to take into consideration the adverse effect on Orient.
West Ham were relegated last season.
"I think they've relied on a Premier League letter saying that they're quite happy," said Hearn.
"But the Premier League are irrelevant because West Ham are now a Football League club, of which we're also a member. So we're looking for our rights to be upheld.
"I don't think the Football League have made any ruling on this at all. The case would be heard by the league's board. It makes West Ham fundamentally flawed in their bid process."
"The OPLC has constantly moved the goalposts, but this is one where they've really put a noose round their own neck. If they move the goal-posts again, Leyton Orient will once again seek a judicial review against them."
Leyton Orient themselves considered moving to the Olympic Stadium, but withdrew on the basis that it was "not fit for football".
Hearn fears West Ham's move to the 2012 stadium, which will be converted into a 60,000-seater venue after the Games, will jeopardise the League One club's future by tempting fans away from Brisbane Road.
"We're totally opposed to West Ham taking occupancy of the stadium," said Hearn.
"My mind boggles at the problems they will give us. It would be extremely harmful to Leyton Orient.
"All the shenanigans over the stadium have gone on for years and years and years. It's fundamentally flawed in design. They should knock it down and start again."
West Ham face competition from three other bidders.
The club told the BBC: "West Ham United has submitted a bid to play matches at the Olympic Stadium from 2014. The rules of the competition impose duties of confidentiality which all bidders must abide by and therefore we make no further comment."
A spokesperson for the London Legacy Development Corporation said: "We have said all along we would not be commenting on what is a confidential process."
The Football League declined to comment.

Go on Barry!

[M-U-R-T-Y]

Still LOL'ing at the fact the Olympic Stadium was on West Ham's match ticket.

[philM]

"I think they've relied on a Premier League letter saying that they're quite happy"

deLOLusionaLOL

[Friday's Legacy]

I hope they've stitched themselves up, but as mentioned, the OLPC have been bending the rules to suit themselves and West Ham through this whole process, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them wriggle out of this.

Personally I feel the Olympic Stadium would be disastrous for West Ham. They do not need 60,000 seats. They couldn't sell-out in their biggest game of the season last week, and that was after a week of mass advertisements in local and national newspapers.

The running track must remain for the 2017 athletics world championships and possibly forever more. Any retractable seating will be too shallow. Just look at the stands below. I just can't see how this will work. Capacity will also come down from 80k to 60k, so it will be interesting how they modify the stadium around the running track.





If I supported West Ham and I was fed the stories of their 'proud' history, and had Upton Park as my home stadium, I wouldn't want to leave there for this. It would bring tears to my eyes to see a more than suitable stadium like UP knocked down and see my club move to a non-football friendly stadium, plastic stadium as they call it, like this.

[Mr Angry]

David Gold was on LBC last night; this is what he had to say about the stadium...

The future of the Olympic Stadium could decided by middle of May - as West Ham's David Gold has told LBC 97.3 that's when they'll be able to "discuss details of the bid."

The Hammers co-owner also revealed the latest bidding process "might turn out to be better" in the long term than last year, when the Championship club were awarded the Stadium before legal challenges from likes of Spurs and Leyton Orient.

"You've got to move on and there's every possibility this is a better route than the original bid. It might turn out to be better" Gold told LBC's Iain Dale but he couldn't reveal why. "You might be aware of the process as we speak so am limited to what I can say - I would love to open up but think May 21st is the date we can discuss details of the bid."

The London Legacy Development Corporation, formerly the Olympic Park Legacy Company and in charge of finding futures for all eight of the permanent venues in the Olympic Park after 2012, has always said they hoped to announce the Stadium tenants before the summer events. LBC understands May was always the target but we're told any decision following the evaluation process has to be "ratified" by the LLDC board and that maybe in "May or June".

After vice chairman Karren Brady told LBC the West Ham fans don't "understand" yet why the club wants to move into the Stadium, Mr Gold ruled out a fans referendum about a move away from Upton Park claiming he could turn the 70% of Hammers supporters in favour of a switch to Stratford to nearly 90% if was "allowed" to show off their plans.

On the crucial question of sight lines and retractable seats in the stadium he said "I can't discuss it but what can say if we win the right to go to the Olympic Stadium it'll be a world class FOOTBALL stadium. Many stadiums round the world have been failures because they were constructed solely for the Olympics with no consideration for football. Technology has moved on so no seat in this stadium will be further from the pitch than at Wembley."

Gold also branded Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn's claim West Ham moving into Stratford would mean the end of the O's as a "red herring".

"We will help local community come to the stadium and young people in particular but what Barry says is insulting just because a club moves a mile or so closer that fans are going to desert you for another football club. I think its an insult to them. They're Orient fans from birth."

Hearn told LBC last month he'd monitor the process carefully and hadn't ruled out further legal action to prevent West Ham moving into the manor.


Hmmmmm - I was under the impression that the running track HAD to stay; Gold is hinting that this is going to be circumvented....

.....either that, or he is lying.

Tough call that one!

[Friday's Legacy]

The running track has to stay until the 2017 athletics world championships and they want to be in there for 2014/15.

As for his comments about it being a football stadium:

16th Feb - http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16022012/ ... tball.html


London's Olympic Stadium is not fit for football and risks turning into a white elephant after this year's Games, the chairman of Leyton Orient warned.

Barry Hearn, whose club is close to the £500-million stadium in a previously rundown part of east London, has long been against a bigger side like second tier West Ham United moving into the venue and his patch after 2012.

A football tenant for the stadium, which will retain its athletics track after the Games and will host the 2017 athletics world championships, seems the most likely.

"The more I look at the stadium, the more and more convinced I am is that it is not fit for football purposes," the businessman told Sky Sports News.
"...I have to say after my tour of the stadium, wonderful stadium though it is, I don't think it is good for football."

"No-one has actually taken responsibility or admitted they have built the "wrong" stadium. They didn't listen to advice five years ago when everyone was telling them what kind of stadium can work," he added.

"We have to face these problems and be honest. Let's use some common sense otherwise it is going to be a horrendous white elephant. We have seen that happen around the world, let's hope it does not happen to London."

[Silver Fox]

LOLz @ the latest update to the tale of the Olympic stadium where West Ham have turned down Barry Hearn's request for Orient to groundshare

We do not wish to comment on recent statements made by Barry Hearn not least because we can't keep up with his ever-changing position.
They continue, however, to provide us with a constant source of amusement.'

[SLAMMED]

[PieEater]

Having visited the stadium I really can't understand why it cost nearly £500m, it seems pretty makeshift and temporary. The bowl itself is great but that's all it is, a bowl. the outside is exposed and just has fabric sails for decoration. There's no concourse area, and all the facilities are outside the stadium exposed to the weather a lot like Fulham but all the way round. Ground level brings you into the bowl at the middle tier so the lower tiers are below ground level and all tiers share the same outside area.

It's circular so even at the side you'd be a long way from the pitch, and behind the goal is even worse. I really can't see how they can improve the views and maintain they views even with retractable stands.

[Wimb]

Having visited the stadium I really can't understand why it cost nearly £500m, it seems pretty makeshift and temporary. The bowl itself is great but that's all it is, a bowl. the outside is exposed and just has fabric sails for decoration. There's no concourse area, and all the facilities are outside the stadium exposed to the weather a lot like Fulham but all the way round. Ground level brings you into the bowl at the middle tier so the lower tiers are below ground level and all tiers share the same outside area.

It's circular so even at the side you'd be a long way from the pitch, and behind the goal is even worse. I really can't see how they can improve the views and maintain they views even with retractable stands.

My thoughts exactly, it's anything but a football venue. The only way you'd do it is to have retractable seating to cover the athletics track but otherwise it's a non-goer. Can totally understand why Tottenham wanted to tear it down and start again.

[Royalist]

It's a white elephant but no one wants to admit it. Cannot see why a football club would touch it until after Athletics world championship in 2017 at the earliest.

[watfordroyal]

It's a white elephant but no one wants to admit it. Cannot see why a football club would touch it until after Athletics world championship in 2017 at the earliest.

To tie into other thread,

THIS will be the worst football ground in PL/FL!

Think the F1 track through the stadium is best option, but won't happen.
Will be used for concerts & 3-quarters empty for the odd athletics event.

[cmonurz]

It needn't be a white elephant, it should become our primary athletics venue, and used for concerts and the like.

[Royalist]

Athletics isn't popluar enough to fill such a large stadium often. Just look at the recent event in Birmingham. It looked half empty on telly and the stands were not even all the way around the ground!

[Wax Jacket]

it's been designed so the capacity comes down to something like 40,000

if you were to put 40,000 tickets up for sale today at let's say £20 a pop for a London Grand Prix in 2013 they'd be snapped up immediately

[Royalist]

I do agree momentum is there now but then why wasn't they snapped up for Brum? Is it just a london thing or novelty of Olympic stadium/park?

[TFF]

£20 a pop for a London Grand Prix

LOL

[Stuka]

Everything and anything in London get's turned into flats. Just convert the thing into a housing estate and be done with it. Sure it will become one of the most socially deprived areas in the UK within a short time, but that didn't stop the planners of Thamesmead and numerous other large scale social housing projects that since crumbled under the pressures of the day.

Either that or just make them yuppie flats and install a posh coffee shop and a Fitness First at the ground floor.