West Ham announced as the 'first bidder' for the Olympic Stadium

West Ham have been named as the ‘first bidder’ for the London Olympic Stadium today by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). They were one of the four bidders for the Olympic Stadium that has remained vacant since the 2012 London Olympics.

“We had four good bids, as everybody knows. The bid that has been ranked top is West Ham United. I am very pleased about that,” said LLDC chairman and London Mayor Boris Johnson.

“It will, if it goes through, mean a football legacy for the stadium but there is still a lot of negotiation to go on between the LLDC and West Ham United about the terms of the deal.”

Now, West Ham have a chance to move into the second largest football stadium in the country, having a 60,000-capacity. They might face problems initially for filling in the seats, but their average crowd of 34,449 this season at home is highly comparable with Tottenham. If the tickets are priced fairly, they will justify finishing up a good deal.

In the last season though, they finished last, and their turnover was touted to be £81 million, just £7 million shy of Manchester City. With the club acquiring the Olympic Stadium, there will be an overwhelming increase in their financial and corporate benefits, mainly due to the surroundings of the Olympic Park.

The earlier bidders were npower League One side Leyton Orient, a football business college and a group which was eager to bring Formula One Racing to the Olympic Stadium.