Olympic stadium debacle rumbles on

West Ham to remain at Upton Park?

Today's announcement by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OLPC) that they are no longer selling the stadium to West Ham United after the 2012 Games didn't come as any great surprise.

In fact, the surprise in my eyes was that it was the OLPC who made the decision, rather than West Ham. The reason given, that they were unable to continue with the bid due to ongoing legal issues is fair enough, and reasonable under the circumstances.

Football at the Athens Olympic Stadium

It does, however, leave one massive question left unanswered - what WILL happen to the stadium after 2012? Having invested £500 million on the facility means that it can't be allowed to become a white elephant, as in the case of other stadia built for major sporting events in the not too distant past. Think of the Athens Olympics of 2004, or the FIFA World Cups of 2002 and 2010 for example.

While many can cite that much of the funding for the stadium came from public funds, a large amount was also funded privately, and those investors will want a return for that investment, surely.

Designed to hold 25,000 permanent seats on the lower tier, with 55,000 seats in a lightweight construction that can be removed afterwards, the stadium must retain the athletics track, as a part of any agreement to use the stadium post-Games.

The 'English-style' football stadium

For any football club to consider using a stadium with this track around it is complete lunacy. Supporters of football in the UK have watched the sport from close quarters since enclosed stadia were required at the onset of the organised game in the 19th century.

The demolition of Wembley in 2000 removed the last English venue of this nature, and now, only Hampden Park in Glasgow remains as the only major football venue to retain a perimiter track around it's pitch.

The Delle Alpi, now completely redeveloped without the track

You only need to take a look at European football clubs who have redeveloped or built new stadiums to see that athletics tracks do not mix with a good football-watching experience.

The new Juventus stadium - without the track

The mighty Juventus moved recently into their new stadium, the rebuilt Delle Alpi, which itself was built for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. The track around that pitch made it an unloved and underused ground that Juve (and Torino) supporters deserted in droves.

As a result, Torino moved back to the revamped Stadio Communale (which itself was mothballed as a result of the move of both clubs to the Delle Alpi), and Juve decided to redesign the stadium completely, to bring their fans closer to the pitch.

More recently, the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany saw major stadium building and redevelopment prior to the tournament.

Stadia in Munich, Hamburg, Gelsenkirchen, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hannover,  Leipzig and Kaiserslautern were all built or rebuilt, having previously been stadia with athletics facilities. A look now at these grounds will see that they are there purely for football spectating (along with concerts).

The AllianzArena - perfect sightlines for watching football

It's useful to note that the new Allianz Arena in Munich has replaced the Olympiastadion, built as part of the 1972 Olympic Park. For over 30 years, both Bayern and 1860 Munich played to stands where supporters were outside the optimum distance for watching football, yet here we are, with the benefit of seeing others' mistakes, and a major football club is fighting tooth and nail to use a facility with an athletics track.

It appears as though, for West Ham's part, they are only thinking of the bottom line, rather than considering their support, yet are willing to spend millions on consultancy fees, and such like, for a project that, if successful, I am sure will see them doomed to fail.

As for the OLPC, they are left with the fallout of a decision made years ago that an Olympics for London would regenerate a whole swathe of run down estates in the East End. That, my friends, is an argument for another day.

For now, though, think about where you would rather watch your football from.