tin lids lose court case over stadium (oh and Orient)

Exclusive: Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient have effectively been warned by a High Court judge not to appeal against his rejection of their attempts to block West Ham United’s proposed move to the Olympic Stadium.
Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient fail with appeal against Olympic Stadium decision
In the spotlight: the Olympic Stadium looks increasingly likely to become the next home for West Ham
Paul Kelso

By Paul Kelso, Chief Sports Reporter

6:19PM BST 24 Jun 2011



In an emphatic judgment, a copy of which has been seen by The Daily Telegraph, Mr Justice Davis dismisses their various challenges as lacking substance, and advises against a “knee-jerk” appeal.

He also ordered both clubs to pay the legal costs incurred by Newham Council and the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which combined could approach six figures.

Dismissing Tottenham’s challenge as “more the product of legal ingenuity than of substance” he warned both clubs: “I would hope renewal [appeal] on all points is not a knee-jerk reaction and careful consideration will be given to the extent of renewal, if any.”

Tottenham and Orient have until 4pm next Wednesday to appeal and will consider their options over the weekend.

In an unusual move, the judge included a proposed date for an oral hearing in the first full week of July, which would represent an extremely quick turnaround for cases of this complexity.


Sources at the clubs have questioned if the case is being rushed through to satisfy a desire to conclude negotiations over West Ham’s lease as quickly as possible, and to allow London to bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championships. Deadlines for bids to the IAAF, athletics' governing body, close at the end of August.

The oral appeal could be heard by a different judge and both clubs believe they have grounds to dispute the ruling, particularly with reference to state aid rules, but the strength of Mr Justice Davis’s findings will render any challenge a high-risk move.

The clubs had sought judicial appeal of the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s decision to select West Ham as the preferred bidder for the stadium, and of Newham’s proposed £40million loan to fund the conversion of the arena. Four challenges, two from each club, were rebuffed, though a fifth application by Orient against the Government is yet to be decided.

The judge was dismissive of many of Tottenham's arguments in their challenges to Newham, which he treated as the lead case of those before him.

At different stages in the four-page judgment, he describes their arguments as “puzzling” and “unarguable”, and declares himself “not overly impressed” by the case they level.

He is equally sceptical of Tottenham’s challenge to the OPLC, describing one of their grounds as no more than “a quibble”, another as “legalistic and of no actual substance”.

Tottenham argued that Newham’s decision to agree a £40million loan to West Ham as part of a joint venture breached European Commission law banning state aid.

The judge said he was “puzzled by the claim” and said the various points raised by Tottenham were “unarguable in the present claim”.

Spurs’ argument that the council acted beyond its powers in making the loan was also rejected. “I do not think this point arguable,” he writes.

He also dismissed Tottenham’s argument that the Newham was “irrational” and discriminated against Spurs by not offering them a loan as well as West Ham, and thus passed up the chance to have two Premier League clubs in the borough.

“I simply do not understand the… suggestions that Newham’s approach was inherently discriminatory,” he said.

In conclusion he said: “Ultimately I have taken the view that the grounds advanced are more the product of legal ingenuity than of substance.”

ThreeWheeling wrote:would be nice now if the government, the local council and all the others turned round now and told levy to go fcuk himself, if he wants a new stadium he can do it with fupp all help