West Ham handed keys to Olympic stadium

Soccer:West Ham United are to move into the Olympic Stadium after the London 2012 Games. The Hammers were officially named as the preferred bidder for the showpiece venue ahead of London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Baroness Ford, chair of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), said the board had considered really carefully and come to a unanimous decision that West Ham United should be the long-term tenant. She said it was a “cracking decision for the community of east London”.

The unanimous decision was made after a vote by 14 members of the OPLC board at a special meeting where the future of the venue in Stratford, east London, was the only topic. The meeting started at 8am and the announcement was made soon after it ended just after 12.20pm.

The decision still has to be rubber-stamped by the British government and the London mayor’s office, but it would be a major surprise if it was not accepted. West Ham’s success, even in the face of relegation, means an athletics track will stay inside the stadium.

The club, in a joint bid with Newham Council, wants to convert the 80,000-seater stadium into a 60,000-capacity arena for football, athletics, concerts and community use.

Tottenham’s plans, part of a joint bid with AEG sport and entertainment group, was to create a football-only stadium without the track and redevelop Crystal Palace for athletics.