Fierce allegations have this week been doing the rounds at the Olympic Stadium, with popular English newspaper the Sunday Times reporting that London club West Ham are guilty of committing wrongdoing when the bidding process was still in progress.
Earlier this year, the West Ham bid was unanimously favoured by the 14 members of the Olympic Park Legacy Committee, who rejected the bid from North London side Tottenham Hotspur. The decision means that the Hammers will move into the stadium after it has been used as a centre piece for the 2012 Olympics. Spurs' bid was rejected partly due to the fact that it would have meant rebuilding the stadium without its athletics track while moving the National Sports Centre to Crystal Palace. West Ham's plans will reduce the stadium to a 60,000 capacity but the running track will be kept.
Spurs' home of White Hart Lane and West Ham's home of Boleyn Ground currently hold a similar number of fans, with both clubs managing to attract an average attendance of 35,703 and 33,426 respectively in the 2010/2011 Premier League season. The realistic reduction from West Ham to 60,000 could well have worked in their favour.
Tottenham and Leyton Orient were clearly unhappy with the decision but had requests to review the decision rejected, being told they had no grounds for review.
The Sunday Times have now claimed that secret payments had been made to an executive on the Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC) from West Ham during the bidding process. The claims say that 20,000 English pounds had been paid before and after the decision to Dionne Knight.
The paper grabbed hold of the story after the OPLC revealed last week that one of its members had been suspended after acting as a consultant for a football team without their consent. West Ham and Knight were named as the two parties involved but both have since claimed that Ms. Knight was not involved in the bidding process and simply had a "personal relationship" with an employee at the London club.
The latest on the issue, conveyed via a statement on West Ham's website, stated that the club "categorically denied" the accusations and announced that "legal action is being taken against the Sunday Times, as well as Tottenham Hotspur."
Earlier this year, the West Ham bid was unanimously favoured by the 14 members of the Olympic Park Legacy Committee, who rejected the bid from North London side Tottenham Hotspur. The decision means that the Hammers will move into the stadium after it has been used as a centre piece for the 2012 Olympics. Spurs' bid was rejected partly due to the fact that it would have meant rebuilding the stadium without its athletics track while moving the National Sports Centre to Crystal Palace. West Ham's plans will reduce the stadium to a 60,000 capacity but the running track will be kept.
Spurs' home of White Hart Lane and West Ham's home of Boleyn Ground currently hold a similar number of fans, with both clubs managing to attract an average attendance of 35,703 and 33,426 respectively in the 2010/2011 Premier League season. The realistic reduction from West Ham to 60,000 could well have worked in their favour.
Tottenham and Leyton Orient were clearly unhappy with the decision but had requests to review the decision rejected, being told they had no grounds for review.
The Sunday Times have now claimed that secret payments had been made to an executive on the Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC) from West Ham during the bidding process. The claims say that 20,000 English pounds had been paid before and after the decision to Dionne Knight.
The paper grabbed hold of the story after the OPLC revealed last week that one of its members had been suspended after acting as a consultant for a football team without their consent. West Ham and Knight were named as the two parties involved but both have since claimed that Ms. Knight was not involved in the bidding process and simply had a "personal relationship" with an employee at the London club.
The latest on the issue, conveyed via a statement on West Ham's website, stated that the club "categorically denied" the accusations and announced that "legal action is being taken against the Sunday Times, as well as Tottenham Hotspur."
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