Olympic Stadium confirmation due

11 February 2011 Last updated at 00:01 GMT West Ham plan to retain the athletics track at the stadium in Stratford An official announcement is due later on the future inhabitant of the 2012 Olympic Stadium site in east London.

At 1100 GMT Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) executives will confirm whether they have selected West Ham United or Tottenham Hotspur as the preferred tenant in Stratford after the Games.

On Wednesday BBC London revealed the executives would recommend West Ham.

The decision must then be ratified by the OPLC board, two government departments and the mayor of London.

Continue reading the main story Baroness Ford, chairmanRanjit Singh BaxiNick BitelAman DalviKeith EdelmanDavid EdmondsDavid GregsonRobert JohnPhilip LewisLord MawsonLiz McMahonJules PipeTessa SandersonSir Robin WalesAndrew Altman, chief executiveJonathan Dutton, finance directorThe ratification is expected to take place next week.

Spurs' plan has been widely criticised because it would involve knocking down the stadium and building a new one.

The club intends to pay for an expansion of the athletics facility in Crystal Palace, rather than keeping a legacy for the sport in Stratford.

West Ham's plan, by contrast, promises to keep athletics in east London and leave the running track untouched.

This is something which Tottenham said was not conducive to a good footballing atmosphere.

The Hammers' bid came under fire because it was not self-funded, relying instead on loaned public money arranged by Newham Council.

Lord Sugar, former chairman of Spurs, said the plan was "totally flawed" and predicted the stadium would become "a white elephant".

"It will be a disaster for the taxpayer and we'll end up having a mothballed Olympic village," he said.

And Tim Leiweke, president of Tottenham's bid partners - the entertainment firm AEG - predicted the stadium would "go broke in 10 years" if an athletics track was retained.

However London 2012 chief Lord Coe has called for the track to be maintained.

He said it was vital to keep promises made to the International Olympic Committee when London was bidding for the event.

And David Lammy, Labour's MP for Tottenham, said West Ham's proposal was "for all London", while Spurs' bid was "for just one club".

A recent BBC London poll suggested 81% of Londoners were against the proposals to rip up the athletics track.

The announcement will be made in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, central London.

It would be a major upset if the board, Mayor Boris Johnson and the government did not endorse the recommendation of OPLC executives, BBC London's Olympics correspondent, Adrian Warner, said.

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