League One Leyton Orient announced "a season ticket giveaway as their latest attempt to ensure their future" as EPL West Ham prepares to move into London's Olympic stadium, according to Marco Giacoimelli of the London INDEPENDENT. The club hopes "to make 1,500 season tickets available to teenagers and students." Leyton Orient Chair & Owner Barry Hearn said, "I’m proud to announce this initiative that I hope will be the dawning of a new era for this club. Leyton Orient have been and always will be a real community club who continue to fight our corner despite being the underdog when you look at our neighbors and the threats we face." The scheme, sponsored by Hearn’s Matchroom Sport company, calls for "the 1,500 season tickets to be available to young people" between ages 14-18 and full-time students between the ages of 18-21 with a valid NUS card on Aug. 3 (INDEPENDENT, 4/18). The BBC reported Hearn has "reiterated his determination" to fight the decision to award Olympic Stadium to West Ham. Hearn "wanted to groundshare" with West Ham, and is "seeking a judicial review of the bidding process," which was run by the London Legacy Development Corporation. Hearn: "We think we have been unfairly treated. We are not going to be bullied out of this" (BBC, 4/18). ITV reported Hearn said that West Ham "will stay at their current Brisbane Road ground should they be unsuccessful in their bid to groundshare at Olympic stadium." Leyton Orient has "been linked with a move away from the Leyton area" in light of West Ham's move to Olympic Stadium (ITV, 4/18).
