Sebastian Coe has warned that it would be “bizarre” for London to be without a world-class track and field venue amid reports that UK Athletics has been offered £15m to cut ties with the 2012 Olympic Stadium.
In a notable intervention Lord Coe also hinted that, if UKA terminated its 50-year agreement with what is now known as the London Stadium, currently home to West Ham, it could make it harder for Britain to stage the World Athletics Championships in the future.
“I’m very clear: we have to maintain, we should maintain, a really world-class presence for track and field in London,” said Coe, who chaired the 2012 Olympics organising committee and is now the president of World Athletics. “It would be bizarre not to. I want London to remain a stopping point for international athletics.”
Under the terms of UKA’s current lease it has a one-month slot every year to stage athletics at the London Stadium. However, it costs £3m to convert the stadium and UKA, which is facing a financial squeeze, is in discussions with the London Legacy Development Corporation about terminating its agreement early in exchange for a payoff.
Such a move would allow West Ham to transform the stadium into a full-time football ground but would raise serious questions about the 2012 Olympic legacy and – potentially – UKA’s ability to attract major athletics events such as the world championships.
“World championships don’t always go to capital cities,” said Coe. “But I think we have to recognise that the quality, the natural assets, that London has in an Olympic stadium are still an attraction. We have member federations within minutes of the 2017 [championships], coming to me saying: ‘Can’t we just bring them back to London every two years?’ So, it’s a big asset. Of course it’s a big asset.”
Insiders have played down the prospect of the Crystal Palace stadium being redeveloped as an athletics alternative to the London Stadium, with some saying it would cost £40m-£50m.
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Coe has refused to speculate when asked whether £15m was seriously undervaluing the value of the lease, saying: “I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole.”
However he said he would happily be involved in any discussions involving the London Stadium, alongside the UKA’s chair, Ian Beattie, if asked. “If UK Athletics felt that I could be helpful in that process, I’m of course happy to be,” he added. “But nobody has actually spoken to me about that yet. I’m going to let this follow its natural course.”