West Ham present Olympic bid
West Ham stars Carlton Cole, Scott Parker and Mark Noble attended Downing Street to present a joint bid for West Ham to run the 2012 Olympic Stadium.
West Ham and Newham council delivered their bid to the Olympic Park Legacy Company. The proposal would see the Olympic Stadium converted into a 60,000 seat stadium that would be used by West Ham in the Premier League. The stadium would also be used to host
athletics, concerts and community events.
West Ham are based close to the site where the Olympic Stadium is being built and are seeking a move away from Upton Park.
West Ham's vice-chairman Karren Brady said: "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."
The Olympic Park Legacy Company have still to decide on what the stadium will be used for after the Olympics, but they have stated that the stadium most be used for the benefit of the community and the surrounding area.
Midfielder Parker who helped deliver the formal bid said: We'll be playing there every week and away teams won't, so they'll be coming to something that is new to them in terms of a running track. Hopefully we'll be quite used to it so I suppose you could look
at it both ways.”
The England international added, "There's no hiding that it is going to be a lot different to Upton Park, which is very hostile, it is very tight, but there are a lot of other benefits which outweigh the running track."
"It's obviously going to be good. There are a lot of big stadiums in the Premier League now and that's the way football's going, and it'll be brilliant," he said.
"Obviously it'll be hard to leave Upton Park, but regarding the new stadium, it is going to give more opportunity for people to come and watch us play,” Parker said.
West Ham will now wait on the decision made by the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
Tags: