Instead of being passed on to a football club if London hosts the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, London’s Mayor Ken Livingstone said the proposed Olympic Stadium will be scaled down to a world-class athletics facility.
Reports say that according to Livingstone, the intention is to reduce the stadium’s capacity and use it to attract other international events to London. There is a possibility that the stadium could be used by a rugby club but football has been ruled out as a partner because of the more onerous fixture list.
Livingstone told a London 2012 meeting “…we will scale the stadium down to around 25,000 or 30,000 seats and treat it as an athletics facility”.
He said the decision not to pass the stadium on was a “more creative” option and that a lasting athletics legacy in the capital would be a more attractive option for International Olympic (IOC) members when they come to examine London’s bid.
He added, “it will engage the IOC because it’s the sort of facility that will attract world-class sporting events to London in the future”.
