Court rules in Spurs’ favor in Olympic Stadium row

LONDON (AP) -Tottenham was given fresh hope Wednesday in its attempt to move into London’s Olympic Stadium following the 2012 Games after being given approval to mount a legal challenge against West Ham’s winning bid.
The bitter dispute could jeopardize London’s bid to host the 2017 athletics world championships at the venue since only West Ham planned to maintain the running track in the 486-million-pound ($800-million) stadium.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company selected West Ham in February as the east London stadium’s preferred long-term tenant after the games.
But London’s High Court ruled at an initial hearing that Tottenham has an “arguable” case to challenge the decision by West Ham’s local authority to provide a 40-million-pound loan to fund the second-tier club’s move into the stadium.
A full hearing is due to start on Oct. 18.
“We are disappointed that permission for a judicial review has been granted on some limited points but we are confident in our case,” OPLC chairman Margaret Ford said.
Tottenham’s attorney, Dinah Rose, said Newham Council’s loan had given West Ham an unfair economic advantage and amounted to unfair “state aid,” claiming a private lender would not have given the club 40 million pounds.
West Ham claimed in a statement that Tottenham had agreed to drop the case if the Hammers withdrew their complaint to the police about their London rival’s alleged misconduct in the bitter dispute.
“The Metropolitan Police’s Economic and Specialist Crimes Unit is dealing with the serious matter of a private investigator acting unlawfully, reportedly under instruction by Tottenham,” West Ham said.
“If found guilty of these crimes, those responsible can expect to receive custodial sentences,” the club added.
West Ham said this relates to “the unlawful acquisition of bank and telephone records” belonging to a West Ham executive and an OPLC official, who it emerged was paid by the Upton Park club.
The OPLC said Monday that director of corporate services Dionne Knight did not have access to confidential information, and did not pass on any such information on to West Ham or anyone else.
West Ham’s bid to downsize the stadium from 80,000 to 60,000 seats won in part because it fulfills Olympic organizers’ promise to retain the running track after the Olympics.
On Nov. 11, the IAAF will chose between London, Barcelona and Doha, Capital to host the 2017 world athletics championships.
Tottenham had wanted to rebuild the stadium and remove the athletics facilities as part of a joint bid with American sports and entertainment giant AEG.
But rather than moving across the capital, the north London club has also resurrected plans to build a new stadium next to its current White Hart Lane base by applying for public funding.
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