Tema: Juegos Olímpicos Londres 2012

London 2012: West Ham's Karren Brady to meet Ed Warner to discuss Olympic Stadium

West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady will meet UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner on Wednesday to discuss ways in which the Olympic Stadium could be turned into a Premier League football ground while retaining a permanent running track.

The meeting, which was requested by Brady, comes just days before the Olympic Park Legacy Company is due to publish a document inviting expressions of interest in the stadium post-2012.

The document will make it clear that organisations interested in bidding must accept the track cannot be removed, as stipulated in the host-city contract between London and the International Olympic Committee.

UK Athletics has also received cast-iron assurances that it will remain an athletics stadium and has launched a bid to host the World Athletics Championships there in 2015, pitting London against Beijing and the Polish city of Chorzow.

A decision will be taken by the International Association of Athletics Federations in November.

It is understood that West Ham now accept the track is there to stay, despite calls by co-owner David Gold for it to be used exclusively for football with athletics relocating elsewhere.

Wednesday's meeting raises the prospects of a solution being found that would enable the £537 million stadium to be shared by the two sports – a scenario that has been gaining support among politicians and local councillors of all persuasions. Not only would it keep London's promise to the IOC, it would safeguard the stadium's long-term commercial viability.

A West Ham spokesman said: "Our position is that we want to talk and see if a way forward can be found that can retain the athletics legacy and also allow us to make sure we get the most out of the stadium.

"It's about finding a solution that suits everybody, and that is Karren's goal."

Supporters of dual usage argue that the compactness of the stadium means the old argument about a running track being incompatible with football because the pitch is too far away from the spectators does not apply.

The most distant seat from the pitch is said to be closer than the most distant seat at Wembley Stadium.
London 2012: West Ham's Karren Brady to meet Ed Warner to discuss Olympic Stadium - Telegraph

Pensaba que el uso del estadio una vez realizadas las olimpiadas debía estar comprometido a priori, pero vamos, que decir, esos comités no tienen ningún tipo de rigor