West Ham face having to vacate London Stadium for weeks if major sporting event gets green light
WEST HAM may be forced to vacate the London Stadium for several weeks if the capital gets the green light to stage the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
Last Saturday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave his backing to a London bid to host the marquee track-and-field event in four years’ time – this involves £45million of investment funding.
A decision will be made by World Athletics next year but president Seb Coe insists it will be a “competitive” tender process with other cities bidding for the 2029 and 2031 editions at the same time.
Yet World Athletics’ preference is to host their Champs at the end of the outdoor athletics season, in the months of September or August.
This would come into direct contact with the Hammers home Premier League matches that month and any European ties, should they qualify for the major competitions.
Athletics bosses would require sufficient time before the start date to get the stadium ready for world-class action and this would mean lengthy talks behind-the-scenes.
London was praised for its full crowds when it held the World Athletics Championships in 2017, five years after the highly-successful Olympic and Paralympic Games.
UK Athletics Jack Buckner said: “We will be in discussions with them.
“We are delighted to have the PM’s backing. I mean we have been really keen to get this bid together.
“There’s a ton of work. But to get to the start line, it feels great. And that level of backing and support is massive really.
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“London has the crowd, the energy, the passion for the sport. This place touches a real deep emotional chord, people remember 2012 and 2017.
“It kind of feels like a home of the sport really.”
SunSport has contacted West Ham for a response.
A London Stadium spokesperson said: “We are delighted that London Stadium is seen as a potential venue for the World Athletics Championships in 2029, one of the biggest events on the world sporting calendar.
“The 2017 Championships we hosted to sold out crowds were a huge success bringing investment and more than £100m in economic benefits to London.
“It is early days in the process for 2029, and full details of any bid are to be developed, including potential dates for the event.
“During this process we will work closely with all our stakeholders, including West Ham, to make sure any benefits to the venue, city and country are considered fully alongside all other requirements.”
The Worlds are nine days in duration but organisers would need it in advance of that to set everything up inside and outside the stadium.