West Ham to bid for Olympic site

(GETTY IMAGES)

West Ham United and Newham Council are to submit a joint bid for the £537m Olympic stadium once the 2012 Games are completed.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company opened an eight-week period yesterday for parties to register their interest.

UK Athletics, the sport's governing body, is also keen to take on the Stratford-based stadium. There is also a possibility that it could be used to host Twenty20 cricket games, and matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. It has also been proposed as a venue should England be awarded the 2018 World Cup finals.

The OPLC will make its decision in March next year. It is determined that a running track remains part of the stadium's future, but, according to Baroness Ford, the body's chairwoman, a multi-purpose venue remains an option.

If West Ham move in, the 80,000-seat stadium would be reduced to 50,000 seats rather than to the 25,000 originally planned for the athletics venue.