West Ham: Olympic Stadium renovation estimated at €223m

Karren Brady, vice-chairman of West Ham United, has revealed the architectural plans for the renovation of the Olympic Stadium in London, at an estimated cost of €223m, on the 11/06/2013. The club want to use the stadium from 2016/17. The cost of building the stadium for the 2012 Olympics was €600m.

The LLDC (London Legacy Development Corporation), the body responsible for the conversion of stadium, gave the project the green light on 05/06/2013. The capacity will reduce from 80,000 to 54,000.

The renovation includes the construction of retractable stands to cover the athletics track. The technology used should be similar to the mechanism for moving the lower stands of the Stade de France. "The distance between the seats and the pitch will be comparable to that of the best stadiums in the world, including the Emirates Stadium and Wembley," said Karren Brady. The roof will be extended to cover these areas.

The club also wants to offer standing room, although it is currently banned in England, "in five years we will see the stands standing in football stadiums, because it requires a…