LOCOG Chair Sebastian Coe has been “forced to reject claims that the Olympic stadium will become a white elephant after the Games, after a deal with West Ham United collapsed,” according to Owen Gibson of the GUARDIAN. There have been “renewed concerns over the viability of the stadium with an athletics track.” But Coe said, "It was the right decision to cut through the potential for ongoing legal challenge here and, worse than that, ongoing legal challenge that was taxpayer-fuelled. It is very important that we maintain a commitment to an Olympic legacy and to a mix of tenancies in there." The “most likely outcome is that the taxpayer will have to foot the bill to convert the 80,000-seat stadium into a 60,000 venue suitable for both football and athletics, with West Ham paying an annual rent and UK Athletics entitled to 21 days use per year.” Coe was “challenged over whether the stadium would ever be full for athletics meetings.” He said that the Olympic Stadium would be “full for Diamond League meetings, currently held back-to-back over two nights at Crystal Palace.” Coe said that he “had been right to campaign for the retention of track and field within a mixed use stadium” (GUARDIAN, 10/20).
