Olympic stadium rivals in court

The latest round of a fight over the future of the 2012 London Olympics stadium is due to take place at the High Court – amid reports Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of dropping their legal challenge to take the arena over.

The football club has been seeking a judicial review over the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s (OPLC) decision to hand the £486 million stadium in Stratford, east London, to rivals West Ham United following the Games.

But on Tuesday night it was reported that Tottenham officials were involved in “intense negotiations” with London mayor Boris Johnson’s office over plans to build a new stadium near their current home.

The BBC said the two parties were “close” to striking a deal, with a senior government source revealing that Spurs would drop its legal challenge if the negotiations were successful.

The Premier League team has been looking for government and mayoral support to build a bigger ground at a site in Northumberland Park, near their White Hart Lane stadium, for several months, it was said.

Plans to develop the area were originally approved by the mayor in 2010, but costs meant they turned their attention to the Olympic stadium.

But in February, the OPLC chose West Ham as its first choice to move into the stadium – a decision rubber-stamped by the Government and Mr Johnson.

Spurs immediately launched a legal battle against the decision – but a first appeal for a judicial review has already been turned down.

Leyton Orient also oppose the West Ham move, arguing that it would mean rivals being subsidised to move to a huge new stadium within a mile of its ground.

West Ham say they aim to create a football stadium with an athletics track. Tottenham say they plan a football-only stadium.

Source: Sky News