Olympic stadium: Spurs to challenge West Ham

The row over the future of the Olympic Stadium rumbles on after Tottenham Hostspur and Leyton Orient were granted permission for a judicial review of the decision to allow West Ham to move into the stadium after the 2012 Games.

The decision came on Wednesday night, and a full hearing is now expected to take place in October.

Spurs and Orient are angry over the Olympic Park Legacy Company's decision to hand the stadium to West Ham after the Games. Spurs, who are looking to redevelop their White Hart Lane ground or find a bigger home, believe they should have been allowed to move to the stadium. Orient, a small club near the Olympic Park, are concerned about the presence of a much bigger team on their doorstep.

Paul Kelso in the Telegraph reports that the ruling "significantly strengthens [Spurs's] hand in negotiations with Boris Johnson and central government". The Premier League club is looking for financial support to stay in the area, if they don't get it they say they will have no option but to leave the neighbourhood that was badly damaged by riots earlier in the month.

Earlier in the week the London Evening Standard said that London mayor Johnson had offered Spurs more than £8m, almost half the cash given to the capital for regenerating the city, in a bid to make them stay in Tottenham.

The Telegraph also claims that Spurs have approached West Ham and told them that they will not proceed with the review if the Hammers drop allegations of criminality that arose during the acrimonious row during the initial bidding process.

West Ham vice-president Karren Brady has claimed that her phone was hacked and the club claimed that Spurs illegally obtained telephone and banking records.

But even if Spurs can be appeased, Orient are unlikely to back down. Their ground, Brisbane Road, is close to the Olympic Park and owner, boxing impresario Barry Hearn, fears that if a club the size of West Ham moves in next door it will spell the end. He said he was prepared to take his fight to the European Commission.

"Our whole existence depends on it," he said. "West Ham taking over the Olympic Stadium with Newham Council backing is comparable to Tesco setting up next to a local grocer and receiving a state subsidy to help put the competitor out of business."

Whatever else happens, the Mail reports that the ruling will scupper Britain's hopes of hosting the 2017 World Athletics Championships. The venue for the meet is to be decided in November, but if the future of the London site is still up in the air then it is unlikely to be seen as a viable option by the IAAF. ·