Source: Daily_Mail
West Ham chief Karren Brady slams Tottenham's hysteria over Olympic stadium
West Ham's vice-chairman Karren Brady believes Harry Redknapp is 'bordering on hysteria' by calling her club's bid for the Olympic stadium a 'nightmare'.[LNB]Tottenham manager Redknapp is opposed to his former club's plans to keep a running track around the pitch because, he argued, you can only see 'Subbuteo-sized footballers through your opera-style binoculars'.[LNB]Redknapp was speaking up for Spurs' own campaign, which involves knocking down the arena post-2012 and building a football ground in its place.[LNB] Hitting out: Karren Brady (left) has criticised Harry Redknapp (right)[LNB]Brady said: 'Harry has got his ownagenda, no doubt given to him by his board to deliver. When he wasasked before for his view of Tottenham moving to the Olympic Stadium,he said, "That's West Ham territory, isn't it?" It's amazing whatpressure can be put on you to change your opinion.[LNB]'Harryseems to have been briefed that we are simply moving our goalpoststhere. That is not true. This is being built by Westfield, anoutstanding company, and one of the ideas is to move seats closerbehind the goal. I'd be a lot more worried about Spurs filling theirstadium because of all the demonstrations I have seen from theTottenham supporters who are against moving.[LNB]'But this is much bigger than Harry's point of view. He is bordering on hysteria.[LNB]'Thisis not a debate about Spurs v West Ham. It's actually about Spurs vWest Ham, the London Borough of Newham, UK Athletics, an Olympicpromise, the community of the East End of London and anyone across theUK who has Olympic aspirations.[LNB]'Thatis the most important part of the submission. This is West Ham puttingtogether the money to be able to convert the stadium to make it usablefor many sports including football and athletics.'[LNB]'About£95million will be spent on converting the stadium into configurationsfrom a small athletics event of 25,000 right through to a Madonnaconcert for 107,000. In between that mix is football.'[LNB] Campaign: West Ham's Tomkins,Parker and Noble[LNB]Redknapp's view that Spurs offer the better football option was reinforced by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who said on Friday that '99 per cent of managers' prefer grounds without a running track.[LNB]But Brady said: 'The redesign of the stadium with the roof means there is no seat in the stadium with a worse view of the pitch than Wembley and, in fact, that the seat furthest away at the Olympic Stadium is five yards closer to the pitch than the seat furthest away at Wembley.'[LNB]Other points put forward by Spurs - whose chairman Daniel Levy wrote an open letter on Friday to fans bringing them up to date with developments - are that they have higher revenue, more fans, a certain future in the Premier League and proven partners in AEG, who transformed the Millennium Dome.[LNB]West Ham are borrowing £40m from Newham Council, but Brady said: 'It's far better to have a financial partner who shares your vision rather than a bank.'[LNB]Pele curiously entered the debate on Friday by writing in support of Spurs on the basis that players 'won't like (a track around the pitch) and it probably won't last'.[LNB]His letter was sent to the Olympic Park Legacy Company, who will determine the stadium's future. Their decision is scheduled for next Friday, but it is increasingly likely to be delayed. [LNB] Spurs chairman Levy pens open letter to fans after final Olympic submissionWest Ham star Scott Parker insists club are 'perfect' for Olympic Stadium[LNB] [LNB] Explore more:People: Karren Brady, Arsene Wenger, Daniel Levy, Harry Redknapp Places: London, Olympic Stadium Organisations: Newham Council
