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West Ham Co-Chair David Gold Insists Club Tried To Buy Olympic Stadium Outright

EPL side West Ham co-Chair David Gold insisted that the club "initially tried to buy the Olympic Stadium outright -- and blames Tottenham and Leyton Orient for forcing the government to agree to rent it out instead," according to Sam Cunningham of the London DAILY MAIL. West Ham and the government have been widely criticized for "negotiating a 99-year lease, with detractors arguing that the taxpayers will foot the majority of the running costs." But Gold defended his club and argued that it was "on the verge of buying the stadium" until its rivals Tottenham and Leyton Orient complained. Gold: "It was a difficult process as a lot of people are aware of. When it became available it became available for sale, the idea was with Newham Council we were going to purchase it, we won that bid" (DAILY MAIL, 10/7). In London, Alyson Rudd reported Gold "made the controversial claim that the east London club’s move from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium" will be "great for the country." He said, "We are hugely excited, it is great for the country. It is an iconic stadium, shown at the Olympics, but completely useless for football and that is why Tottenham wanted to pull it down. We reached a compromise and it is fantastic. The fans were absolutely against it, around 80% of them including me to some extent. Upton Park is where all my memories are, bunking in without paying in when I was seven. It’s exciting for West Ham. Slowly but surely over the past two-and-a-half years we have won those fans over, promising to make it the home of West Ham" (LONDON TIMES, 10/7). Rudd reported in a separate piece the move represents a "new dawn," but for Gold, "archaic values remain entrenched." The West Ham owner is "hopeful that having lots of shops in the vicinity of the club’s new ground will attract more women to watch the team." Gold has two daughters and "while they may enjoy shopping, they have become interested in football because their father owns a club." Other women will "need a different sort of incentive" and the huge, "glitzy" Westfield shopping center that all supporters will walk through to reach the Olympic Stadium. Gold: "We are right on the edge of a shopping center, so we are very hopeful that that's going to increase the female fanbase and it's also the quality of the experience of coming to a football match" (LONDON TIMES, 10/8).

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