London Legacy Development Corp. CEO ANDREW ALTMAN has “effectively paid the price for the failure to secure the future of the [Olympic Stadium] before the Olympics after two years of trying, and will leave the LLDC (formerly the Olympic Park Legacy Company) immediately after the Games,” according to Paul Kelso of the London TELEGRAPH. His exit, which was “presented as a mutual decision yesterday, was announced just 24 hours after new chairman DANIEL MOYLAN formally started work and is clear evidence” that London Mayor BORIS JOHNSON’s “ally means business in his new post.” Attempts to find a “long-term solution for the arena have been repeatedly derailed by legal challenges that the LLDC has been unable to satisfactorily defend or counter.” The LLDC has “consistently struggled with the fundamental flaw of the stadium -- the retention of the track makes it unattractive to football clubs -- but the problem is clear from the calibre of the bidders in the last tender process, all four of whom can be revealed for the first time” (London TELEGRAPH, 6/20). The GUARDIAN’s Owen Gibson notes Altman “arrived with a strong urban planning reputation for his work in New York and Washington,” and has been “at the helm throughout the controversy over the future of the stadium” (GUARDIAN, 6/20).
