Olympic stadiium controversy

[Norman Potting]

Whatever one's views on this and Lord Coe I do find his comments on the matter to the point and amusing at the same time, particularly his put down of the Pele endorsement to the Spurs bid!

BBC Sport - Lord Coe backs West Ham Olympic stadium plans

 

[manilaseagull]

does it really matter what Pele thinks?

What has it got to do with him anyway?

 

[slinky]

Firstly Who cares, we have Falmer... (Wembley by the sea)..

if i were to be pushed to give an answer on this, i would say give it to West Ham, after all it is in their own manor, unlike Spurs who will have to move from one side of london to the other, and i believe this would be against the premiership ruling that stops other teams encroaching on another Premier teams area or something like this.

However will West Ham be able to fill it, well that depends on what division they are in at the time...

 

[Rookie]

Allow the plans to make the capacity smaller happen and give it to Leyton Orient while allowing it to be the home of Athletics. Tell Spurs to do one and stay where they are based and West Ham that their stadium is better (albeit not bigger) for football.

 

[BensGrandad]

Hasnt anybody ever looked at Withdean and realised that having a running track around the pitch does not work and as a side issue how many times will it ever get filled for athletics , you could probably count the number of times per year on 1 hand. Nobody goes to watch athletics not even top athletics except events like Olympics or World games etc.

Spurs idea is the best re site the track at Crystal Palace but then the chavs decided they wanted to move so scrap that idea and move it somewhere near Rugby and nearer the centre of England.

 

[ILIKECANDLES]

Allow the plans to make the capacity smaller happen and give it to Leyton Orient while allowing it to be the home of Athletics. Tell Spurs to do one and stay where they are based and West Ham that their stadium is better (albeit not bigger) for football.

This.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Hasnt anybody ever looked at Withdean and realised that having a running track around the pitch does not work and as a side issue how many times will it ever get filled for athletics , you could probably count the number of times per year on 1 hand. Nobody goes to watch athletics not even top athletics except events like Olympics or World games etc.

Spurs idea is the best re site the track at Crystal Palace but then the chavs decided they wanted to move so scrap that idea and move it somewhere near Rugby and nearer the centre of England.

If Spurs are allowed to use it then they are as bad as Franchise FC, who many on here condemned until they were blue in the face. Rather spikes Spurs's guns in terms of calling Arsenal Woolwich though, doesn't it, Stratford FC? If West Ham get it, can't they do what happens with the Stade de France, where they have seats on the athletics track, which are removed for athletics events?

Regarding athletics, they would never put the UK athletics main stadium in Birmingham or wherever, whatever the merits of the case. As far as world sporting authorities are concerned, the UK only has one city.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

This.

Alternatively, fair enough. West Ham's ground is perfectly adequate, so long as they redevelop the old Chicken Run stand. To allow Spurs to move in on two other clubs' territories would be a disgrace.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Orient's current ground is perfectly adequate also, to be fair.

When are they ever going to need even a 20,000 seat stadium?

 

[philsussex]

I actually like Orient's ground

 

[Paddy B]

The original plan is for a reduction after the games to 25,000 so talk of West Ham not filling it is obsolete. The real crime here is that the original design should have had a higher first row allowing for retractable seating.

As it is we are left with the problem of having a sustainable facility (only possible with a Football or Rugby club) against poor viewing angles for Football

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Why not keep it as an athletics stadium rather than a football stadium - after all that's what it was built for. Of course, if that's not viable then one has to question why we built it in the first place !!!!!!

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Too late now, but it was foolish to build an athletics stadium that will be rarely used. I am sure, in the long run, it would have been far more sensible to build a multi-purpose stadium with retractable seats. There is the ethos of 'host it and worry about it later' when it comes to worldwide events. A bitter failure by Coe and his chums.

There will be no thought as to the impact on Leyton Orient. One wonders if Gold and Sullivan saw this as an opportunity to get their grubby mitts on a ready made stadium, a stadium that the UK is desperate to flog.

I do hope that neither West Ham nor Tottenham are granted permission to take it over for many reasons.

I'd rather it were retained for athletics and Crystal Palace were able to redevelop the NSC.

London is brimming with young people to take advantage of the facilities on offer in Stratford.

What a fiasco.

 

[8ace]

Why can't they leave the stands as they are, dig up the track and lower the pitch so they can put another tier of seats in?

 

[slinky]

Alternatively, fair enough. West Ham's ground is perfectly adequate, so long as they redevelop the old Chicken Run stand. To allow Spurs to move in on two other clubs' territories would be a disgrace.

I agree West Ham's ground is ok, i remember going up for the Albion game where they played the illegal Tevez (but that is History), however they do need to sort out the Chicken Run, it is out kilter with the rest of the stadium, and the transport links are poor. Worst than the Albion's!!!

 

[BensGrandad]

Why not keep it as an athletics stadium rather than a football stadium - after all that's what it was built for. Of course, if that's not viable then one has to question why we built it in the first place !!!!!!

What is the average attendance at an athletics meeting other than Olypics etc.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

What is the average attendance at an athletics meeting other than Olypics etc.

At a guess 17 plus two dogs. Kind of shows what a complete waste of money the Olympics really is. After all, who really wants to watch skipping, jumping and throwing ?

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Allow the plans to make the capacity smaller happen and give it to Leyton Orient while allowing it to be the home of Athletics. Tell Spurs to do one and stay where they are based and West Ham that their stadium is better (albeit not bigger) for football.

Its not going to happen but this would be what would happen in an ideal world.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

the transport links are poor. Worst than the Albion's!!!

Largely because Upton Park Underground station is so inadequate. Arsenal and Holloway Road Underground stations are closed before and after games at the Emirates for that reason, with fans directed to Finsbury Park or Highbury and Islington. If they were to put on a dedicated bus link before and after games to Stratford, the problem would be solved. A massive transport interchange has been built there with the purpose of serving the Olympics.

 

[Rookie]

This.

I don't care for Leyton Orient one way or other but feel it is an absolute disgrace they way they are being treated in all this. Just read the statement on your website and there is a real worry there for the future of the club who ever wins. More needs to be made of the what would happen to Orient if either current option happened