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West Ham United and Newham Council have confirmed their 'radical plan' for
the 2012 venue
17.05.2010
A ground-breaking proposal has been submitted on Monday to ensure that
football and athletics can be the best of neighbours at the 2012 Olympic
Stadium. Newham Council and West Ham United's radical plan presented to the
Olympic Park Legacy Company is to make the venue in Stratford a vibrant
centre of sport, culture and education. Open all year round, it would have
an active community use, inspiring learning and achievement and helping to
create a better quality of life for tens of thousands of people. The
proposal - which is backed by Essex Cricket, the University of East London
(UEL) and Newham College of Further Education - is for a stadium with a
capacity of up to 60,000 that would retain the competition athletics track.
It will have 80,000 seats for the Games. The bid includes retaining a second
warm-up track next to the stadium, which would be used by community
athletics groups such as Newham and Essex Beagles, the current UK men's
athletic club champions, as well as international athletes. The Beagles also
count Stratford-born 400m Olympic gold medallist Christine Ohuruogu among
their members. The joint bid has already been welcomed by Ed Warner, the
chairman of UK Athletics. He said it "embraces a strong athletics legacy in
the stadium which is very welcome".
Essex Cricket are interested in using the stadium for Twenty20 Cricket after
the Games while UEL want to be a tenant of the stadium building, with access
to the sports facilities. It could teach sport, health and biosciences. Most
of the proposed stadium structure would be retained. It would also feature a
specialist studio school for 300 pupils aged 14 to 19, delivering education
and sports and leisure training. There would also be a further education
skills and enterprise campus in and around the stadium providing for up to
4,000 learners every year. The Premier League football club and the council
believe the move could result in the best-ever legacy for an Olympic
stadium. It would generate much-needed employment in the area and make for a
healthier East London by increasing sports and physical activity. They say
the initiative could bring a wider benefit too. One of the ideas being
examined is to incorporate an Olympic visitor centre and football museum at
the stadium. Together with the other attractions in the Olympic Park and the
neighbouring Westfield Stratford City shopping centre it could make the
venue one of the nation's favourite destinations. The relocation of the
Hammers to the Olympic site would also offer the opportunity for the current
Upton Park stadium site to form part of a regeneration scheme that would
include new homes, shops and community facilities. Both parties are mindful
of the pledge given to the International Olympic Committee that a London
Games will leave a solid athletics legacy. But both suggest football and
other sports can share the venue and prevent it from becoming a "ghost of
Olympics past".
Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, said: "London wants to deliver a great
Games - we want to a deliver a great legacy. "Our plans would ensure the
magic dust of the Olympics lives on long after the Games has finished,
inspiring young people for years to come. The stadium is the jewel in the
crown of London 2012. We see it as the catalyst in our once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to transform not just Newham, but the whole of the East End. "We
will create a stadium that captures the heart and spirit of the Games for
decades to come. It will be a vibrant centre of sport, culture and
education. It will inspire learning and achievement and help build a better
quality of life for tens of thousands. It can host many great sporting
moments along the way. A busy Olympic Stadium also means job opportunities
for local people."
West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady said: "We believe this is the
only bid that can deliver London's legacy commitment to the International
Olympic Committee.
"The last thing anyone wants is for the Olympic Stadium to become a ghost of
Olympics past. The only realistic solution is to make the stadium work for a
Premier League football team and that should be West Ham United. "As a top
flight football club we have the necessary expertise in running a major
multi-purpose venue. Working with Newham Council we could ensure extensive
use of the stadium that would create prosperity in the local area and see
this club grow and move on to another level. Our plan to keep most
of the stadium in place protects the public investment."
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