Football or athletics or both?

[Jaded]

I thought the Olympics was a lot about legacy, so I thought Spur's bid for the stadium was opportunistic. However I can also see that an athletics track between the seating and the pitch is not ideal.

Is there no place for a modern athletics stadium in a city the size of London?

[Euan Uzami]

Listening to radio 4 about this earlier, they were saying one of the IOC members said he only voted for london because they'd promised to keep it as an athletics stadium, and then they said "but it would be silly to put keeping a promise above financial viability" (or words to that effect)
Did anyone else hear that or was it just me...

[Psychler]

However I can also see that an athletics track between the seating and the pitch is not ideal.

It works at the Stade de France, which is used for athletics as well as football, rugby and concerts. 

I'm sure that everyone who's paying an increased council tax to fund the Olympics and the supposed legacy are really chuffed to be helping put money into Tottenham's pockets in this way.

[Polar Bear]

A running track around a pitch used to be commonplace in many venues.   There are also options for retractable seating and/or track sections.   It can be done, just that somebody has to want to.

I hope any non-athletics legacy is not taxpayer subsidised.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Athletics first then football.  Haven't we got plenty of football stadiums already?  Much as I enjoy watching a good game now and then.

[LEE]

One or the other.  Athletic tracks ruin Football grounds.

If someone wants to buy it as a football ground then they should pay the market rate.

Unfortunately though, we could be left with an athletics stadium which costs a fortune to maintain, just for the occasional international event.  We're probably looking at cost recovery, despite all the promising talk of "leaving an Olympic legacy".

A civilised country would pay to maintain a superb athletics venue.  Let's see.

[clarion]

I thought City of Manchester had a track...

[robgul]

Yeah - I was going to say that the Man City ground was the Commonwealth Games athletics stadium ... although I think that there was some major work done.

AND those of more mature years may remember the White City in London that had:  a) a dog racing track, b) an athletics track c) motorcycle speedway and  d) football in the middle - at one time QPR played there ... and that was all at the same venue (but the pies were still crap!)

One has to wonder why Seb and his pals didn't think through the legacy use at the start and cue up the post-games deal?    (And why Spurs or West Ham - (Leyton) Orient's ground is within about half a mile of the new stadium    )

Rob

[Andrew Br]

I thought City of Manchester had a track...

Not any more.

I heard on 5 Live yesterday that retractable seats can only be used if they're incorporated into the stadium design at the outset.
Putting them in increases the cost.

[LEE]

I read that Spurs' bid involves demolishing the Olympic Stadium and rebuilding!!!!

That's just obscene if correct.

[Manotea]

It's what Qatar plans to do, several times over. Don't know what they are planning to do with all the extra hotels...

[giropaul]

Less high profile news recently has been a "revised" plan for the closed road racing circuit that is supposed to replace Eastway and form part of the "heritage". The revised plan is to allow for, I understand, some "high value" housing developement. The revised circuit is seen by those in the know as being highly inferior to the original planned (which itself was a poor replacement for Eastway)

So much for an Olympic heritage! Hello commercial profit opportunities!

[clarion]

Have I mentioned that Manchester should have been chosen to host the 'Lympics?

[bobb]

Athletics first then football.  Haven't we got plenty of football stadiums already?  Much as I enjoy watching a good game now and then.

From BBC blog:

They can't afford it because, like it or not, athletics offers one event (a World Championships) which would fill a 60,000-seat stadium once every 20 years for a given country. Premier League football does that at least once a fortnight.

Turn it into a football stadium. Nobody gives a shit about athletics...

[mattc]

Less high profile news recently has been a "revised" plan for the closed road racing circuit that is supposed to replace Eastway and form part of the "heritage". The revised plan is to allow for, I understand, some "high value" housing developement. The revised circuit is seen by those in the know as being highly inferior to the original planned (which itself was a poor replacement for Eastway)

So much for an Olympic heritage! Hello commercial profit opportunities!

I bet the occupants of the "high value" homes will whinge endlessly about the parking on race days 

[andygates]

It's what Qatar plans to do, several times over. Don't know what they are planning to do with all the extra hotels...

They intend to build stadia that can be easily taken down and moved, which isn't quite the same thing...

[Domestique]

Would rather see WHU move in and retain the running track in some way.
Imo it would be a total sham if there is no running track left at the Olympic Park

[Jaded]

It isn't going to be a 60,000 seat stadium after the Olympics, it will be 25k or something like that?

[redshift]

Have I mentioned that Manchester should have been chosen to host the 'Lympics?

Oh good grief no.  I was so relieved when it didn't win.  Three times.  I can just imagine what would have happened.   

[clarion]

It would have cost us all a lot less than trying to bodge it into londonton.  If we had to have the bloody PE festival, then better to put it somewhere that had (the vast majority of) the facilities in place.

[bobb]

Manchester's a shit hole - as is all of the north. Nobody would bother going to watch. It's like when Manchester was competing against Sydney for the 2000 Olympics. What a joke! Post industrial miserable wasteland verses glorious harbourside city? Post industrial miserable wasteland verses glorious harbourside city? Post industrial miserable wasteland verses glorious harbourside city? Hmmm, let me think for a minute.....

[clarion]

You think East London is any better?  I have to disabuse you.

However, we are where we are, and we've had squillions sunk into a half-arsed project that won't deliver one quarter what was promised.

Should have realised there was a reality discontinuity when a Tory peer headed the gig

[Mr Larrington]

(And why Spurs or West Ham - (Leyton) Orient's ground is within about half a mile of the new stadium    )

West Ham's bid is the cheaper of the two and will cost 98 million quid.  I doubt the Os can raise 98p at the moment.

Spurs' plan is the most utterly hornchurch idea to have surfaced since Mad Jack McMad was voted Maddest Person Of The Year for the sixth consecutive time and could be utterly spannered if Bromley council give the green-light for Pystal Crapace to move back whence they came.

[bobb]

You think East London is any better?  I have to disabuse you.

You know I'm only joking and just trying to get a rise from you 

The thing is, to most of the world - Britain is London. Simple as that. It's not right, but it's what people think. With the possible exception of Edinburgh, no other British cities would ever get the Olympics as they're just not well known enough worldwide.

As for all the moaning about cost and the defeatist attitudes to the success of the games - fuck it. I don't give a bollock how much it costs. And they will be a massive success. It's almost as if some people want the games to fail. They can fuck off, go and listen to The Smiths and slash their wrists as far as I'm concerned. Miserable cnuts...

[clarion]

True that the Olympics can only be held in capitals.

Capitals such as Melbourne, Munich, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Montreal, St Louis, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro...