Olympic board rejects West Ham's proposal

English West Ham's request to use Olympic Stadium after the Games are over was ruled out when organisers of the event made a decision to reduce seating and will not allow any club to be a partner in building the venue.

Lord Coe, chairman of London's 2012 Olympic Committee, confirmed that Olympic Stadium's 80,000-seat capacity would be reduced to 25,000 after the event ends, which will seat 10,000 less than West Ham currently does at Upton Park.

"We've always made it clear we will go forward with track and field facilities but we'll encourage other sports to become involved," said Coe.

He stressed the need to provide a stadium with an athletics and community sports-for-all legacy.

West Ham's new owner, Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnusson, had previously said that he had no objection to the stadium retaining track and field facilities.

"The board unanimously decided that it would not be possible to deliver this in collaboration with West Ham or any other Premier League football club, due to the number of design changes and associated time delays the West Ham proposal would incur," read a statement released by the Olympic board.

"The board discussed a report on legacy that shows the Living Stadium concept – with a mixed sport offering combined with commercial, school and community use – is the most compelling."

Leyton Orient is considering a possible move to the stadium.

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