LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson should be thrown off the bidding panel to decide which football club gets the Olympic stadium after 2012, says Leyton Orient owner Barry Hearn.
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Hearn is furious that Johnson appeared to pre-judge what is meant to be an open bidding process when the Mayor said: “We will rent it to a football club, almost certainly West Ham.”
Both West Ham and Orient are keen to rent the stadium. Johnson, the Olympic Park Legacy Company and the British government all have input into the decision on what happens to the Olympic stadium after the Games, but it is thought likely that Johnson has an effective veto, given his elected status.
“Our Mayor of London says West Ham are a near certainty and by that statement he has rendered the entire procedure a total waste of time,” said Hearn.
“The ineptitude of our Mayor in this is unbelievable.”
“Why should anyone now bid if the Mayor of London, who makes the final decision, says West Ham are a near certainty? What’s the point in spending tens of thousands of pounds on evaluations and reports when the Mayor has made his mind up?”
“We have written to the government saying that he should be removed from the process because he has overstepped the mark.”
Johnson has denied that he has any pre-conceived ideas as to who gets the Olympic stadium.
“The Mayor has a completely open mind as to the outcome,” said a spokesperson for the Mayor.
The official bidding process is due to re-open in November.
