Source: Team_Talk
Newham mayor backs Hammers
West Ham's plans to move into the Olympic Stadium have been given the full support of the mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales.[LNB] The Hammers have six weeks in which to finalise their proposal to be given the long-term lease of the venue after the 2012 London Olympic Games.[LNB]They are among a group of interested parties with the Olympic Park Legacy Company open to ideas for the stadium to be reduced from its Games-time capacity of 80,000 to anywhere between 25,000 and 60,000.[LNB]West Ham's ambitions of moving to the Olympic Stadium have the full backing of Newham, the London borough that is home to the arena.[LNB]"West Ham United are an East End institution and deserve the chance to be the best and beat the best," said Wales.[LNB]"We have always argued the Olympic Stadium needs a top-flight football team after London 2012.[LNB]"In my eyes there is only one obvious choice - and that's the Hammers.[LNB]"West Ham understand the community. It will mean there is a tenant that will look after the place, rather than let it go to ruin."[LNB]Wales believes using the Olympic Stadium to host a Barclays Premier League football club is the best way to honour the Games' legacy commitments.[LNB]"The last thing anyone wants is for the Olympic Stadium to become a ghost of Olympics past," Wales.[LNB]"We were concerned about this when London successfully won the bid to host the 2012 Games and we continue to be concerned.[LNB]"Allowing West Ham to move into this iconic setting would ensure a fitting legacy for the stadium.[LNB]"Legacy has been central to London winning the Olympic bid. We see West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium as key to unlocking and shaping the future of Newham.[LNB]"The only realistic solution is to make the stadium work for a Premier League football team and that should be West Ham.[LNB]"Allowing the club to move into this iconic setting would ensure a fitting legacy for the stadium.[LNB]"It would boost England's bid to hold the 2018 football World Cup as the stadium would have to be adapted for football.[LNB]"Having hosted one of the greatest sporting shows on earth why not help hold the other too?".
