"My colleague the Minister for Sport and the Olympics [Hugh Robertson] and I have today given our approval to the recommendation of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) to select the joint bid from West Ham United Football Club and the London Borough of Newham as the preferred bidder for the legacy use of the Olympic Stadium," Local Government Minister Bob Neill said in a statement.

"We are therefore writing to the Company informing them of our decisions as its joint Government Founder Members.

"The Mayor of London, as the other Founder Member of the Company, will also write separately.

"This completes the first stage of this process and means that the Olympic Park Legacy Company are now able to enter into negotiations with the consortium comprising West Ham United Football Club and the London Borough of Newham to agree a lease for the Olympic Stadium site on terms that are acceptable to Government and the Mayor of London and provide value for money to the public sector.

"We are delighted with the progress that has been made and very pleased we have reached this very significant milestone in determining the long term legacy for the Olympic Park following the Games."

West Ham were chosen by the OPLC last month to move into the £537 million ($836 million) Olympic Stadium ahead of a rival bid from Tottenham Hotspur.

Unlike their Premier League rivals, West Ham promised to maintain the running track after the Olympcis and Paralympics - a key promise made by London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe during the capital's successful bid.

"I am confident that West Ham will provide a secure future for the stadium which also sees its iconic design for the London Games retained for future generations to admire," said Johnson.

"Just two years ago it faced the prospect of becoming a dust bowl staging occasional athletics events but now we can look forward to a fantastic multi-use venue at the heart of the community, able to host football and other sports as well as concerts and events specifically for local people and schools."

Karren Brady (pictured), the vice-chair of West Ham, know wants to start making her club's dream a reality.

"I am pleased and proud the Mayor of London and Government have today endorsed the Olympic Park Legacy Company's recommendation that West Ham United and Newham Council be preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium," she said.

"I am grateful for their support and the clear recognition of the strengths of a financially strong, community-based bid that will do much for the regeneration of East London.

"At this time, I must also personally thank [chair] Baroness Ford and [chief executive] Andy Altman of the OPLC for the thorough and professional way they have handled this entire process.

"I look forward to working with them in the future and making their vision a reality.

"At West Ham, we have been entrusted with a great responsibility and the OPLC's unanimous backing will only inspire us further to make good on our legacy promises.

"In many ways, the hard work starts now.

"The starting gun has been fired and we are off and running.

"This will be an Olympic Stadium to make everyone proud, a multi-sports, multi-event arena that will be both a spectacular local and global attraction.

"We will not let anyone down."

But Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn has threatened to challenge the decision to let West Ham move from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium as he claims that it could mean the deathknell for the Npower League One club.

The club fear West Ham's move to Stratford could cost them up to £1.5 million ($2.4 million) a year, figures on which they will base their claim for damages.

At the heart of Orient's case is their belief that the Premier League has ignored its own rules by giving West Ham permission to move after the 2012 Games.

Section 6.5 of Rule I states that the League would allow a club to move grounds provided the switch "would not adversely affect clubs having their registered grounds in the immediate vicinity of the proposed location".

But the Government and Mayor's approval was celebrated by Ed Warner, the chairman of UK Athletics.

"We are delighted that the Government and the Mayor have ratified the OPLC's decision to proceed with West Ham as the preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium," he said.

"The process undertaken by the OPLC was robust and thorough and this announcement today is testament to that.

"We would like to thank the OPLC, and in particular Margaret Ford and Andrew Altman, for their commitment to an athletics legacy and the way in which they have kept us involved and informed throughout the process."

Johnson, meanwhile, said he would do all he could to help Tottenham leave White Hart Lane and move to a new stadium.

"The extremely thorough process to select a preferred bidder for the Stadium attracted two outstanding proposals from two great London football clubs," he said.

"I would like to reassure·Tottenham Hotspur that we stand ready to support them with any plans they now want to take forward for their future stadium requirements."

In welcoming today's developments, the OPLC said: "We are pleased that the Mayor and Ministers have approved our recommendation.

"We look forward to working with the preferred bidder, West Ham United and the London Borough of Newham, in order to bring the future of the Stadium to a financial close."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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