Spurs v West Ham for Olympic Stadium takeover

Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham were confirmed Friday as being in a straight fight to take over London’s Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games.

The future of the 80,000-seater venue in Stratford, east London, has been a bone of contention, trying to match the Games organisers’ pledge for an athletics legacy with the need to make the stadium viable.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company confirmed it would enter final negotiations with the bids led by Spurs with the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), and a consortium of West Ham and the east London borough of Newham.

The rival bids will go head-to-head, with the OPLC aiming to have its preferred tenant named by early April.

“We are very pleased with the extensive and serious interest shown in the stadium,” said OPLC chair Baroness Margaret Ford.

“We started this process to ensure the very best legacy for the stadium, and we are now at a point where we have selected the two strongest bids.

“We will go forward to start negotiations with the two consortia of Tottenham Hotspur and AEG, and West Ham United and Newham Council.

“The stadium is a vital and vibrant component of the Olympic Park; securing the most appropriate and viable solution is crucial for our long-term aspirations for the future Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park area.”