File - Former British athlete and head of the LOCOG, Sebastian Coe, left, assists former Namibian athlete and Chairman of the IOC Athletes' Commission Frank Fredericks lay the final turf in the London 2012 Olympic stadium, London, in this Tuesday, March 29, 2011 file photo. (AP)
LONDON – The pitch inside London's Olympic Stadium is not up to Premier League standards and will have to be ripped up after the games using public funds to enable a football club to be able to use the venue.
The 486 million-pound ($744 million) stadium has been built without the under-soil heating required in England to stage top football matches.
East London football club West Ham would have footed the bill of up to 2 million pounds ($3 million) to install a new pitch with under-soil heating, but its long-term tenancy agreement was ripped up last year due to legal challenges.
Instead, the Olympic Park Legacy Company told The Associated Press that it will have to pay for the post-games transformation of the stadium, which West Ham could just rent.
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