So we may lose athletics use of the Olympic stadium

[Chafford1]

Strong support from DAS today in the press for retaining the London Stadium as an athletics venue.

[Laps]

Good news if you want Athletics to continue at London Stadium. Bad news if you prefer UK Athletics get signicant compensation for giving up their contract. If all the work of setting back the football seating is paid for by someone else (MLB) LDDC will have less incentive to pay up to get rid of Athletics.

[stirling]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/athletic...rystal-palace/ (paywall)

"The London Stadium has been a total flop,” said double Olympic long jump finalist Jade Johnson. “The whole premise of getting the Olympics was legacy, but how many British athletes have been able to even run there? It only hosts one or two competitions a year."

[philipo]

Looking more optimistic today that athletics may be able to stay at the London Stadium if conversion costs are paid by Major League Baseball, according to Ben Bloom in the Telegraph.

We all need baseball like a hole in the head. Wonder if this country will stop playing major sports in the future so the USA can control all our sports.
So refreshing some nice rich yanks can take control of Chelsea..not.!!

[Ladyloz]

I notice that Crystal Palace is being used for The Games on ITV this week. Not sure what work has been done in preparation for this, looks OK on the TV.

[Chafford1]

Looking more optimistic today that athletics may be able to stay at the London Stadium if conversion costs are paid by Major League Baseball, according to Ben Bloom in the Telegraph.

[Biggut]

Because of course Birmingham has no place in world athletics having hosted Diamond leagues, 2 World Indoors, a Euro Indoors, the European Cup, the World Half Marathon Champs and the International Cross Country Championships.

The maximum capacity of 40k is clearly not co-incidence. Birmingham is well connected and has a history in the sport. It’s an ideal candidate for Euros in particular and the Commonwealths will be an excellent event to market its potential.

We really don’t need another massive stadium that lies empty most of the time anywhere in the country. Perhaps a 5-10,000 seater in London would be a decent addition but above that I just see it as a waste of money.

[Biggut]

The Alexander Stadium redevelopment allows for up to 40,000 seat capacity not 30.

[treadwater1]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/west-ham-athletics-london-stadium-26892105

Mirror version of the Telegraph article

[Chafford1]

Reported this morning that the London Stadium will be the venue for baseball over the next few summers with seats being removed. MLB to pay for the costs of altering the Stadium.

[carterhatch]

Cheers, Laps, for reposting.

[Laps]

UK Athletics will be negotiating with LDDC not West Ham United. LDDC bear all the costs (£3 million apparently) of switching from football mode to athletics mode and back again. There is a negotiating position there for LDDC to avoid this major cost but I don't believe that it is as strong as some think. My guess is that West Ham will play it cool, take a back seat and wait for the inevitable to happen. They have become reconciled to the unsuitability of their stadium as it is, for time being. Permitted capacity is now up with Spurs and Arsenal. What's not to like about 60,000+ every match and at last a winning team.

The Olympic Stadium has steadily receded from iconic, much-loved venue to a bit of an embarassment for athletics imo. It seems unlikely that athletics could even half fill it unless an Olympics or World Championship comes along again. The cost to the public purse for so little sport and so few spectators will eat away at public and political support. The last Anniversary Games in the stadium, 2019, only attracted around 15,000 spectators on the Saturday and 25,000 on the Sunday. A product partly of high ticket prices itself a consequence of trying to make a profit/or at least limit the loss. The meeting's popularity was quickly waning when Covid intervened. The public no longer drawn to the Olympic stadium to the same degree, and with no GB superstars to cheer on.

Negotiating this and the politics that go with it will be very tricky for UK Athletics. I don't envy them.

[Laps]

Stupidly I tried to edit it a second time within a few minutes and so it is in "unapproved" greenland at the mo. So repeated below.

[carterhatch]

There was a great posting by Laps between #26 - [that is to say, I cant see it anymore] - which, among expressing very articulatly many of the realities of the situation, reminds folk that West Ham do not own the stadium, and so any negotiations to change the status quo are led by the LLDC ...

[JamieSLA]

Whilst I wouldn't say i'm glad.. watching the worlds there in 2017 was so frustrating. Ended up having BBC coverage on my phone alongside it as I couldn't tell who was where in most events.