The League One club, who were founded in 1881, making them older than both West Ham and Tottenham, fear that their future will seriously jeopardised if one of the Premier League clubs moves into the Olympic Stadium, which is located just a mile from their home ground at Brisbane Road.

Barry Hearn, the chairman of Orient, has written to both the Premier League and Football League claiming that the move would breach both sets of rules which states that it should only be sanctioned if "would not adversely affect Clubs having their registered grounds in the immediate vicinity of the proposed location".

"The Club has appealed to the Premier League and the Football League, both of whom would be in breach of their own regulations if they were to sanction a move for either West Ham United or Tottenham Hotspur, but the silence is deafening," Orient said in a statement published on their website today.

"We've done things the right way.

"We haven't gone in to administration and cheated our way in to staying in business; we've invested in our community reaching over 130,000 people per year across six Boroughs; we've invested in our youth programme giving local kids a chance; we've modernised our stadium by re-building three stands; we pay our bills and our wages on time and we always will.

"The media write about West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.

"No consideration is given to Leyton Orient.

"The powers that be want to brush us under the carpet and suppress our views but we will not allow that to happen."

The Olympic Park Legacy Board company are due to meet in the next weeks to consider the rival bids from West Ham and Tottenham.

Further bad news for Orient came today with the news that Kate Hoey, the Labour MP who acts as Boris Johnson's Sports Commissioner, backs West Ham's bid.



"For me this is about a genuine grass-roots community legacy," she told The Independent on Sunday.

"Tottenham have yet to show publicly how their proposal would bring any real benefit to the people of Newham – or, for that matter, the people of London.

"I want to see the Stadium and the [Olympic] Park alive with activity seven days a week and 365 days a year and I have been impressed with how thorough West Ham's plans are in this regard.

"More importantly, I want to know that the anchor tenants understand their responsibility to bring real opportunity to local people and a real sporting legacy to the entire city.

"From what I have seen so far, West Ham are the only applicant capable of delivering this to Londoners."

But Orient have warned that a decision to give the Stadium to either club after the Olympics and Paralympics could have dire consequences.

"Brisbane Road sits one long goal-kick from the Olympic Park, there is no question that it is within the 'immediate vicinity'," they said.

"Surely [the OPLC] will recognise this at their respective meetings when the application to move ground comes in from either West Ham United or Tottenham Hotspur?

"It is tragic to think that the true legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games could be the death of one of football's most-established community clubs.

"Is that something those in the corridors of power are prepared to shoulder the responsibility for?"

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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