West Ham United on verge of agreeing move to Olympic Stadium despite Leyton Orient's legal challenge

6:15pm Thursday 21st March 2013 in Latest Sport

West Ham United are close to an agreement over the Olympic Stadium: Action Images West Ham United are close to an agreement over the Olympic Stadium: Action Images

West Ham United have reportedly agreed a 99-year deal to move to the Olympic Stadium.

The Hammers were named as the preferred bidder by the London Legacy Development Corporation in December but Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn has launched a legal challenge into the bidding process to become tenants. 

According to reports, the Premier League club would have the right to use the stadium for all of their home matches in a 99-year concession deal. 

The agreement, which is expected to be officially announced tomorrow, is also likely to pave the way for matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup to be staged at the stadium. 

Hearn has insisted he will admit defeat in his bid to share the stadium if the judicial review fails. 

Comments(2)

ColinOrient says...
9:57pm Thu 21 Mar 13

Nice of Gold and his gang to ask Hammers fans what they think of the move - not! Brady has repeatedly claimed the ex-Birmingham three would consult their supporters over the move. Just how many West Ham fans are happy to give up Upton Park just so this three can make a financial killing?

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mdj says...
11:47pm Thu 21 Mar 13

This could be a good contest to lose. Let's assume that it's not Barry Hearn's real intention to cover the Orient pitch with flats while weeping crocodile tears: a medium-sized, club with a loyal core following may be a more secure business model in hard times than an over-ambitious, indebted would-be champ, which wants to trade the certainty of a well-loved freehold ground for a lease on an arena that may have no atmosphere to draw fans in the numbers needed.
The passivity of fans in the face of the shenanigans of the deal-makers who move in and out of club ownership is baffling: if they withdrew their spending power for a season, they could take control, and bring the heart back into what has become just a rich man's casino and theatre for bragging.

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