Betting Spy: Olympic Stadium saga is now a farce

Grant Prior 12 years ago
Share

“Faster, Higher, Stronger” is the rather stirring Olympic motto.

Perhaps we need a new slogan to sum up the Olympic Stadium legacy competition.

“Slower, Lower, Weakly Run” springs to mind as the “race” to find a new tenant for McAlpine’s magnificent 2012 stadium stretches from a sprint into a marathon.

The authorities revealed this week that 2016 is now the likeliest date for the stadium to reopen – that will be four whole years after the last Paralympic medal ceremony.

The feelgood factor of a great summer of athletics is now being replaced by the dead hand of bureaucratic bumbling leaving the stadium standing as a white elephant in the heart of east London.

We all know there is only one viable tenant – West Ham United.

This latest delay is just to allow Olympic officials to horse trade with the club over who should pay for the £100m plus stadium conversion bill.

The men from the various ministries think West Ham will cave in and stump up for the work.

But why should they?

The club will only be leasing the ground so it would be like you paying for a massive makeover of a rented flat when it’s the landlord’s responsibility.

Civil servants think they can outfox the Hammers’ hierarchy and screw a better deal for the Government.

Good luck with that one.

If it comes down to a game of bluff I know my money would be on Davids Gold and Sullivan and Karren Brady rather than the civil service team.

West Ham have a perfectly good home at Upton Park already so are quite prepared to wait while the legacy bods dither.

Let’s just award the thing to the only viable bidder and get on with converting it or the mistakes of Athens will be repeated in the heart of London.

Our bet this week is another chance to oppose Liverpool.

Luis Suarez sunk our Newcastle bet last week – and without his goals the Reds would be in deep trouble this season.

Yet again the bookies have priced them up on history rather than current form with Chelsea a sliver of odds-on to beat Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues should be nearer two to one on so lets double our stakes and have £20 on Chelsea at 10/11 with Paddy Power.

Betting Spy has joined forces with Paddy Power to offer all readers a free bet when they open an account. Just click on the link below to visit construction’s favourite bookmaker to find out all the latest prices and follow the easy steps to setting-up an online, telephone or mobile account

Running Total for all 2012 bets to a £10 stake:   +£181.00

Latest news

Driver escapes injury as scaffold collapses onto van

Major three-lift scaffold fall blocks north London high street
3 days ago

Gilbert Ash to be sold to staff

£267m turnover contractor to transition to an Employee Ownership Trust
3 days ago

M Group seals biggest-ever deal with Telent takeover

Digital infrastructure specialist deal lifts turnover to £3bn
3 days ago

Aggregates firm Ashville went down owing more than £3m

Debts revealed in Companies House update
3 days ago

Cardo saves 100 jobs at Breyer roofing arm

Private equity-backed Welsh maintenance group continues to expand
3 days ago

Excavator knocked off lorry going under bridge

Traffic Commissioner inquiry after accident in south London
3 days ago

Czech energy tycoon buys UK’s biggest rebar supplier

Spanish offload Celsa UK operation to be rebranded 7 Steel UK
4 days ago

Caddick Construction targets £400m turnover

Regional shake-up pays off at contracting arm
5 days ago

Redrow chief steps down after Barratt merger

Matthew Pratt leaving after 22 years
4 days ago

United Living names new property services senior team

New CEO and COO appointed to lead growth in housing upkeep and retrofit
4 days ago

Wynne triples turnover in three years to over £90m

Five-year growth strategy pays off
4 days ago

Speedy Hire blames Budget for branch closures

National Insurance rises accelerate closure programme
4 days ago

Builder gets suspended sentence for Covid loan fraud

M&E specialist inflated turnover to claim maximum loan
4 days ago

Scores of M&E firms win places on £400m CHIC framework

Axis Europe and Seddon secured spots on social housing deal
5 days ago

Coroner hears how worker was crushed under digger

Inquest opens into tragedy at Rose Builders site
5 days ago

Billington lowers 2025 forecast amid pricing pressure

Tender prices under pressure due to project delays and cancellations
5 days ago

Willmott Dixon lands Dover town centre revamp

Alliance agreed to regenerate several key council sites
5 days ago

Go-ahead for London City office-to-flats scheme

Hub's 150 Minories job in Aldgate to create 280 co-living homes
5 days ago

Wates mobilises as £200m Middlesbrough scheme approved

Gresham Street scheme includes a hotel, 240 flats and over 400 student rooms
6 days ago

Crashed M&E contractor TNA owed supply chain £7m

Sister company buys assets including company vans
6 days ago

Renaker eyes bumper 2025 despite Gateway 2 concern

Strong construction pipeline to support another record year
6 days ago

Wessex Water picks civils firms for £65m framework

Over 40 smaller firms will support AMP8 civils spending programme
6 days ago

Green light for nearly 400 flats at Leeds scheme

Three blocks up to 18 storeys approved at Armley Road
6 days ago

Subcontractors wanted across South London

Work up for grabs from main contractors and clients: Register now for Constructionline event
6 days ago

Heavy lorry ban on Severn Bridge as cables deteriorate

Crossing "not designed and built for today’s levels or weight of traffic"
6 days ago

Muse submits Oldham town centre regeneration plan

Plan advances for six sites to deliver 2000 homes, an hotel and office space
1 week ago

Construction returns to growth after two tough months

Concern grows Trump turmoil is spooking property investors
1 week ago

Skanska wins £43m Clifton Bridge deal

Contractors says scheme is a "complex project that will be delivered to tight timescales"
1 week ago

Green light for 44-storey Manchester resi tower

Developer Glenbrook to start hunt for main contractor
1 week ago

Ten win £670m Network Rail eastern region small works deal

CK Rail, QTS, Colt and Construction Marine pick up two lots
1 week ago

Contractor services