• London Olympics 2012

Redknapp wades into Olympic stadium debate

ESPN staff
January 21, 2011
A general view of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium © Getty Images
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Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has warned West Ham they risk turning their home ground into a "desolate graveyard" if they succeed in their bid to take over the Olympic Stadium.

Should West Ham win the race to take over the venue, the club plan to keep the running track to fulfill the organisers' legacy promise of having a world-class athletics stadium in London.

However, the Hammers are up against Tottenham, who intend to tear down the stadium and rebuild a 60,000-seater football stadium, as well as redeveloping the current athletics stadium at Crystal Palace.

Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations backed West Ham's bid and warned Britain would risk losing all credibility if they failed to keep to their legacy guarantees, but Redknapp believes football and athletics should not go hand-in-hand.

"Try to mix football and athletics and you end up with a great big bowl of nothing," he said in his column in the Sun. "It's incredible that the club is even considering taking over the Olympic Stadium and keeping the 400m track intact, putting up an invisible yet insurmountable barrier between the fans and the football."

Redknapp, who was West Ham managers for seven years, insists he was "not just banging the company drum for Tottenham", but instead claimed West Ham risked losing any atmosphere.

"Upton Park was and still is one of the great grounds for atmosphere," Redknapp said. "These days it doesn't happen so often but on the big nights, especially for cup games, the place can rock. In contrast, Chelsea used to have a dog track around their pitch at Stamford Bridge and the place really struggled for atmosphere.

"I hate going to grounds where there is a running track to get past before you see Subbuteo-sized footballers through your opera-style binoculars. Mine is a simple belief that running tracks and football grounds sit together about as well as putting a swimming pool on Centre Court."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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