and the winner is................West Ham!

mike65

Yep the Spurs money-bags "knock it down and rebuild it" bid for the Olympic Stadium has been turned down in favour of West Hams keep the track compromise. Plenty of controversy to follow to doubt.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/09/west-ham-winning-battle-olympic-stadium

Wemberly will be pee'd about having a stadium competing for concerts, motor racing etc I imagine.

The_Kew_Tour

I think Leyton Orient were robbed

dahat

West Ham gave Spurs the run around..........

Guy:Incognito

The losers are West Ham too, well the fans mostly.

tallaghtmick

the losers will be the british tax payers,cant wait to hear the moaning:pac:

daithijjj

Should have upgraded crystal palace (athletics) to this stadium imo. Not really a legacy for the nation is it, giving it to a football club.

Zaph

Can't see the Hammers coming close to selling out 60,000 every week, and with a track around the pitch as well the atmosphere at most matches will be a bit crap I reckon.

dahat

Zaph wrote: »

Can't see the Hammers coming close to selling out 60,000 every week, and with a track around the pitch as well the atmosphere at most matches will be a bit crap I reckon.

Especially if they get relegated and fail to come back up when they are due to occupy the stadium

Xavi6

They struggle for 35,000 at the moment. Ridiculous move if it happens.

rossie1977

only logical choice imo

listening to levy on the tv earlier saying you can't play football and athletics in the stadium, ah newsflash there will be football AND athletes there during the games and some of the most famous grounds in the world were olympic stadiums, did a tour of munichs olympic stadium last year, still a terrific ground even today

rossie1977

Xavi6 wrote: »

They struggle for 35,000 at the moment. Ridiculous move if it happens.

west ham averaged a massive 1,300 less than spurs seasons 2008-10

daithijjj

Zaph wrote: »

Can't see the Hammers coming close to selling out 60,000 every week, and with a track around the pitch as well the atmosphere at most matches will be a bit crap I reckon.

One of the arguments put into the debate against that, is that the stadium design would see the very back seats closer to the pitch than the very back seats currently at old trafford. Ive had the displeasure myself of being in the very back seats there and to be perfectly honest i might aswel have not made the trip and watched the highlights on tv, was pointless, like watching subbuteo, couldnt barely make out who had the ball..

daithijjj

rossie1977 wrote: »

only logical choice imo

listening to levy on the tv earlier saying you can't play football and athletics in the stadium, ah newsflash there will be football AND athletes there during the games and some of the most famous grounds in the world were olympic stadiums, did a tour of munichs olympic stadium last year, still a terrific ground even today

Fantastic stadium and surroundings. Was there a long time ago, even got on the pitch, scaled the surrounding moate . Long time ago now, when the deutsche mark was the same size as the old 5p , still, was good to know before we went with all the vending machines

SEPT 23 1989

They should stick to Upton Park the new stadiums are soulless

Bodhisopha

Smart move. Their hooligans will be out of breath before they reach the pitch. Kudos.

rossie1977

daithijjj wrote: »

Fantastic stadium and surroundings. Was there a long time ago, even got on the pitch, scaled the surrounding moate . Long time ago now, when the deutsche mark was the same size as the old 5p , still, was good to know before we went with all the vending machines

surroundings are wonderful in munich you could spend the whole day there in the park by the lakes, up the tower and over at bmw museum, london would be wise to copy munichs example and leave something tourists want to visit after the games finish

Xavi6

rossie1977 wrote: »

west ham averaged a massive 1,300 less than spurs seasons 2008-10

Good stat and on closer inspection they're only 1600 off for this season as well.

That will drop though if they go down and stay down.

Beefy78

rossie1977 wrote: »

surroundings are wonderful in munich you could spend the whole day there in the park by the lakes, up the tower and over at bmw museum, london would be wise to copy munichs example and leave something tourists want to visit after the games finish

Best thing about the Olympic Park in Munich is the World's greatest crazy golf course, just over by the stadium. Always a cracking day out!

As for this one, West Ham going there was a no-brainer. I was at White Hart Lane on Saturday and Spurs fans didn't want to move to the new ground. They're a North London club and need to be playing in north London, especially after bitching at Arsenal for moving for the past hundred years. The Olympic Stadium is in West Ham country and if anyone was to mvoe there it needed to be them.

Chardee MacDennis

Xavi6 wrote: »

They struggle for 35,000 at the moment. Ridiculous move if it happens.

it was a ridiculous move for both teams tbh. It should be kept as an 100% athletics stadium.

Beefy78

Xavi6 wrote: »

Good stat and on closer inspection they're only 1600 off for this season as well.

That will drop though if they go down and stay down.

Spurs would get more fans if they had a bigger capacity. It's pretty easy to get a ticket for Upton park most weeks when it's much more difficult for Spurs.

West Ham are a big Club though. I don't buy the possibility of relegation as being a reason why they shouldn't get the ground - the ground is for 50 seasons, not just five seasons. They'll be back though, as they have been before and will be again.

Fr Tod Umptious

Beefy78 wrote: »

Spurs would get more fans if they had a bigger capacity. It's pretty easy to get a ticket for Upton park most weeks when it's much more difficult for Spurs.

West Ham are a big Club though. I don't buy the possibility of relegation as being a reason why they shouldn't get the ground - the ground is for 50 seasons, not just five seasons. They'll be back though, as they have been before and will be again.

Boards.ie poster in long term thinking shocker !

fkiely

Beefy78 wrote: »

Spurs would get more fans if they had a bigger capacity. It's pretty easy to get a ticket for Upton park most weeks when it's much more difficult for Spurs.

West Ham are a big Club though. I don't buy the possibility of relegation as being a reason why they shouldn't get the ground - the ground is for 50 seasons, not just five seasons. They'll be back though, as they have been before and will be again.

West Ham have a much bigger catchment area though and one which can easily be exploited. We've always had decent crowds over the years and had a decent sized waiting list for a good while. As with every single club in England, there's been a slight dip but with the reduced prices I can see us fill around 45-48k most weeks (circa 30 if we go down). Which will be fine in a 50k stadium.

Beefy78

fkiely wrote: »

West Ham have a much bigger catchment area though and one which can easily be exploited. We've always had decent crowds over the years and had a decent sized waiting list for a good while. As with every single club in England, there's been a slight dip but with the reduced prices I can see us fill around 45-48k most weeks (circa 30 if we go down). Which will be fine in a 50k stadium.

I'm from Southend. I grew up 35 miles from Upton Park yet the most supported Club around where I grew up was West Ham by a mile. They're a much bigger Club than they're given credit for and have probably one of the biggest catchment areas in England.

Mr. Guappa

Hopefully this leak is true, would hate to see Spurs move from the Tottenham area.

TBH it's the wrong club with the right plan.. maintaining the athletics track will kill the atmosphere and cost West Ham in the long run. There is an almost surreal atmosphere at Espanyols games at the Barcelona Olympic stadium.

v3ttel

rossie1977 wrote: »

only logical choice imo

listening to levy on the tv earlier saying you can't play football and athletics in the stadium, ah newsflash there will be football AND athletes there during the games and some of the most famous grounds in the world were olympic stadiums, did a tour of munichs olympic stadium last year, still a terrific ground even today

Sure, you CAN play football in an stadium that is surrounded by a running track, but the question is, do you really want to, especially long term, when a large part of the atmosphere will be lost? Famous does not equal great.

Why did Munich move to the Allianz Arena?

Why did Juve move from the Stadio Delle Alpi?

markesmith

Xavi6 wrote: »

Good stat and on closer inspection they're only 1600 off for this season as well.

Spurs attendance are kept in check big-time by the stadium capacity. Record attendance was over 75,000 for a cup game in 1938 vs. Sunderland. Season ticket waiting list stands at over 20,000.

But I'm glad we didn't get it. It's a nice distance from WHL, and the gentle sloping of the seats would definitely impact the decibel level when Bale or VdV's on the ball.

Good luck to West Ham I say. Best stadium in the Championship

Beefy78

Rooney10 wrote: »

Sure, you CAN play football in an stadium that is surrounded by a running track, but the question is, do you really want to, especially long term, when a large part of the atmosphere will be lost? Famous does not equal great.

Why did Munich move to the Allianz Arena?

Why did Juve move from the Stadio Delle Alpi?

The Olympic Stadium looks much better designed than either of those, to be fair. Like the earlier poster, I've been on the tour of the ground in Munich and whilst it's an imposing building it doesn't look designed to be the home of a football club. I don't think it's going to be as much of a problem as it has been elsewhere. It's not like the Withdene or anything like that...

There wasn't an ideal solution. The whole thing should have been designed with a view to bringing the stands in after the Games without having to go down the route of knocking the whole thing down along the lines that Spurs proposed.

El Weirdo

rossie1977 wrote: »

...there will be football AND athletes there during the games...

Erm... No there won't.

Paully D

It'll look good with 15,000 in it during the Championship.

Bodhisopha

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Hopefully this leak is true, would hate to see Spurs move from the Tottenham area.

TBH it's the wrong club with the right plan.. maintaining the athletics track will kill the atmosphere and cost West Ham in the long run. There is an almost surreal atmosphere at Espanyols games at the Barcelona Olympic stadium.

There was an almost surreal atmosphere at Espanyols games at the Barcelona Olympic stadium.

~Rebel~

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

There is an almost surreal atmosphere at Espanyols games at the Barcelona Olympic stadium.

Was there for a match years ago as well. It was a weird watching experience alright, felt very detached from the game.

dfx-

rossie1977 wrote: »

surroundings are wonderful in munich you could spend the whole day there in the park by the lakes, up the tower and over at bmw museum, london would be wise to copy munichs example and leave something tourists want to visit after the games finish

Was living in Munich last Summer, took every opportunity to catch the u-bahn to the Olympic Park in the evenings. I went to a 1860 game at the Allianz and it didn't compare..

Unfortunately I couldn't get onto the pitch at the Olympic stadium because barriers were up for a Ubloody2 concert :mad:

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Must go to Upton Park before they move..

daithijjj

Id have loved to have gone to a bayern game in the olympic stadium, i think it would be a great atmosphere. As to why there was a move?, well, i wouldnt be close to the situation but there were a few factors, the allianz is purpose built, i think there may have been a lobby to move which has since resulted in a corruption courtcase, ie, men in high positions were trying to line their own pockets from the contruction of the new stadium.

Anyway, here is a short vid pre that u2 concert, gives you an idea of the atmosphere and its not even near full there, whichever club gets it this is the kind of thing that will be going on when no football on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w40YULc8FL8

Beefy78

As an Essex CCC fan I'm definitely looking forward to a fair few Twenty20 matches under the floodlights at the Olympic Stadium. that will be awesome.

gimmick

As a Leyton Orient well wisher, this move is a fecking disaster. Os struggle as it is to get fans in the already croweded London market, but putting West Ham on their doorstep in Stratford will either send them into Essex or non league football.

Beefy78

West Ham are already on the doorstep of Orient and tend to attract most of the kids growing up around that way. At least they now don't have a second massive Club on their doorstep.

What would Orient's alternative have been?

fkiely

If you view this from a business perspective it makes complete sense for West Ham. It will allow the club to move onto the next level financially. It's not ideal from the fans point of view but long term it probably makes sense. Hopefully our season tickets will be cheaper as well.

keano_afc

As an Arsenal fan, I'm happy with that. Winning the league at the Lane again would have been something I'd have missed.

gimmick

Beefy78 wrote: »

West Ham are already on the doorstep of Orient and tend to attract most of the kids growing up around that way. At least they now don't have a second massive Club on their doorstep.

What would Orient's alternative have been?

Stratford is one stop from Leyton. It just makes it an awful lot more difficult for the Os.

What do you mean re alternative?

Beefy78

gimmick wrote: »

Stratford is one stop from Leyton. It just makes it an awful lot more difficult for the Os.

What do you mean re alternative?

I know how close they are. I believe that Brisbane Road is less than a mile from the Olympic Stadium. But my point was that Upton Park is only two miles away from Brisbane Road and casts a huge shadow over all that part of East London. They take away support from my Club, Southend United, and we're 35 miles away, so I can only imagine the impact they have on Orient. Orient don't tend to attract many kids in that area and they struggle to get people to support their local team because anyone around their is pretty much equally local to West Ham as they are to Orient. But I'm not convinced that it will be much worse in the future than it currently is. Anyone who supports Orient will continue to do so.

What I mean by alternatives is what is the best case use of the Olympic Stadium from Orient's perspective? I know that Barry Hearn was initially talking about Orient moving in but I can't believe that that was ever realistic. Spurs moving there would have been a disaster as suddenly Orient have both West Ham and Tottenham on their doorstep. West Ham moving there looks the least bad alternative.

Beefy78

Also, if I can be slightly un-PC for a moment, I've been to Leyton on numerous occasions and I've been to Brisbane Road on numerous occasions and I think the demographic of Leyton Orient fans and the demographic of people living in Leyton are very, different. I doubt too many Os live within three miles of Brisbane Road.

sydsad

Delighted spurs are staying at WHL.

gimmick

Beefy78 wrote: »

Also, if I can be slightly un-PC for a moment, I've been to Leyton on numerous occasions and I've been to Brisbane Road on numerous occasions and I think the demographic of Leyton Orient fans and the demographic of people living in Leyton are very, different. I doubt too many Os live within three miles of Brisbane Road.

Whats un PC about that? Its a fact. I would just prefer WHU did not move in closer to Os turf.

Perhaps it will make Os move home matches to Fridays much like Southend?

Re alternative - its being build as an Athletics stadium. Leave it as such.

Kristopherus

Hammers get the recommendation.

fkiely

We get the bid. Was predictable but now that we have it I'm not sure how I feel. The running track is a major deterrent and it'll be a shame to leave the Boleyn. However we've seen over the last few years that in order to move onto the next level a bigger stadium is a must. Makes perfect economic sense. Any chance to piss Spurs off is a winner as well...

Mr. Guappa

fkiely wrote: »

We get the bid. Was predictable but now that we have it I'm not sure how I feel. The running track is a major deterrent and it'll be a shame to leave the Boleyn. However we've seen over the last few years that in order to move onto the next level a bigger stadium is a must. Makes perfect economic sense. Any chance to piss Spurs off is a winner as well...

Most Spurs fans I know were rooting for West Ham to win.

I think West Ham fans will turn against this move once the reality sets in that they will be playing in a half-empty stadium with a running track between them and the action. Just because it makes economic sense on paper does not make it a good move. Delighted ye got it though

Hopefully Levy will go back to redeveloping WHL but I fear he has more sh*te to pull before this is all settled.

fkiely

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Most Spurs fans I know were rooting for West Ham to win.

I think West Ham fans will turn against this move once the reality sets in that they will be playing in a half-empty stadium with a running track between them and the action. Just because it makes economic sense on paper does not make it a good move. Delighted ye got it though

Hopefully Levy will go back to redeveloping WHL but I fear he has more sh*te to pull before this is all settled.

Don't get me wrong fella, the majority of us were hoping that you'd get it! When I mentioned pissing Spurs off, I meant more along the lines of Levy, Redknapp etc..., not the fans. Personally I'd prefer to stay where we are but in business terms it makes sense. Just wish we didn't have to have that ****ing running track though..

Seaneh

It's going to be a horrible stadium.

Mr. Guappa

fkiely wrote: »

Don't get me wrong fella, the majority of us were hoping that you'd get it! When I mentioned pissing Spurs off, I meant more along the lines of Levy, Redknapp etc..., not the fans. Personally I'd prefer to stay where we are but in business terms it makes sense. Just wish we didn't have to have that ****ing running track though..

Yeah, to be honest I felt our plan was better from a football stadium point-of-view but the decision-makers were always likely to go with the bid that kept the stadium intact.

Paully D

The only reason Sullivan and Gold went near West Ham is because they knew with the help of Karen Brady's contacts that they'd get the Olympic Stadium.

West Ham will now have to give out free tickets around the community so that they can fill the stadium as they'd be lucky to get 40,000 + regardless of whether they are in the Premier League or not.

Football League along with Premier League rules state that a stadium can't be given to the detriment of another club, and Leyton Orient are clearly worse off because of this decision but are they now expected to just get on with things because they're not as big of a club as West Ham are?

Also, how do one of the country's poorest councils suddenly find £40m to give to already wealthy owners?

The whole ''cockney boys'' agenda of The FA, people like Sullivan and Gold and clubs like West Ham stinks to high heaven.

It's a disgusting decision.