Kray JR Thu 19 Dec 2013, 6:01 pm
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] may yet be forced to share the Olympic Stadium with Leyton Orient after Barry Hearn was given permission to use the venue by legacy chiefs.
The London Legacy Development Corporation confirmed on Wednesday night that it had no objection to Orient chairman Hearn negotiating a rental agreement with whichever firm ends up operating the London 2012 centrepiece, something that could lead to the club playing all of their home games there.
The revelation followed a meeting between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Hearn, set up in the wake of the House of Lords report last month into the Olympic legacy, which recommended that Orient be allowed “occasional use” of the stadium.
The LLDC reiterated that there was no prospect of West Ham’s sole anchor tenancy being challenged but told Hearn that there was nothing to stop him striking a deal for Orient to play at the venue when it is not being used by their local rivals.
The right to manage the stadium during those periods will be put out to tender next year, with Live Nation and AEG likely to be among the bidders. The winner will be charged by the LLDC with eking the maximum possible revenue out of the arena during a contract expected to span between 10 and 20 years.