There has been a new twist in the Olympic Stadium saga with a split emerging in the athletics camp which up to now has been united in its support of the West Ham bid. The Association of British Athletics Clubs, a grassroots body, has argued that the Spurs scheme which involves upgrading Crystal Palace is a realistic alternative.
There has been a new twist in the Olympic Stadium saga with a split emerging in the athletics camp which up to now has been united in its support of the West Ham bid. The Association of British Athletics Clubs, a grassroots body, has argued that the Spurs scheme which involves upgrading Crystal Palace is a realistic alternative.
John Bicourt, the association’s coaching office has long been a thorn in the side of the sport’s governing body, UK Athletics. However, he argues that ‘West Ham, should they win the bid, would almost certainly demand the right to remove the track after a few years on the basis that the stadium is barely used for athletics enought to justify keeping it.’
His view received support from athletics statistician and author Rob Whittingham who argued that the stadium would be too big even for a World Championship and that the window for athletics between football seasons would be too small. He argued that 35,000 to 40,000 was the size needed for a World Championship. Moving a domestic athletics meeting to a 60,000-seat stadium would simply be a farce.
However, Olympian Sally Gunnell insisted that she was horrified at the thought of the Olympic Stadium being demolished for football: ‘We’re desperate for tracks in London. Crystal Palace logistically is a nightmare. It’s not good enough.’ Which is not to say that it could not be made better.