The OPLC will announce later this month whether it will back West Ham United’s bid to move to the venue and retain the athletics track whilst down-sizing the stadium to 60,000 seats, or support Tottenham Hotspur’s controversial plans.
Tottenham has stated it would demolish the Olympic Stadium and build a new football-specific venue without an athletics track on the same site, but would pump money into upgrading London’s Crystal Palace athletics venue.
“Our position is that we want the bid commitment to be met and that was for a track to be retained within the Olympic Park,” Hunt told Reuters. “The OPLC should make the decision but we are clear, we backed the bid commitment and the decision should be in line with that. I'm sure the right decision will be made by those responsible for making it.”
Tottenham's plan, backed by entertainment giant AEG, has been met with dismay by many from within the athletics fraternity while International Olympic Committee executive board member Craig Reedie, one of the 2012 bid team, wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Britain would “lose credibility” if Tottenham's bid was given the green light.
West Ham lost one potential vote on Wednesday when OPLC board member Tessa Sanderson was excluded from all matters relating to the stadium. Sanderson has a personal consultancy contract with the London Borough of Newham, which is partnering West Ham's bid for the stadium.
