NFL In Olympic Stadium Talks
The National Football League is the latest organisation to be linked with the anchor tenant role of the Olympic Stadium, after a number of reports linked the League with the role for London 2012’s showpiece venue.
The Telegraph reported that NFL franchises have entered into talks with the Mayor of London Boris Johnson over such a proposal.
Johnson is chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation, which runs the stadium.
A spokesman for Johnson said: ‘Given the ever-growing popularity of gridiron this side of the Atlantic the Mayor and his team have held a number of meetings with senior executives in the last few days to explore further opportunities for NFL in London. The talks were exploratory and we are at an early stage but the signs are encouraging.’
No NFL games could take place at the Olympic Stadium until 2017 at the earliest as an exclusive five-year deal has been signed with Wembley Stadium.
Following an extension to the bidding period, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) in July announced that bids had been received from Premier League football club West Ham United, League One team Leyton Orient, Intelligent Transport Services “in association with Formula One” and UCFB College of Football Business.
The bids aim to add to the legacy uses already secured for the £486 million Olympic Stadium, and it will become the new national home for athletics and host to the 2017 World Athletics Championships, as well as the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Last month the NFL confirmed the addition of a second regular-season game in London in 2013, with the Minnesota Vikings agreeing a one-year deal to give up a home game for the switch to Wembley.
