West Ham say Spurs can't use Olympic Stadium as temporary home

It looks like Tottenham Hotspur can take the Olympic Stadium off of their list of possible temporary homes. West Ham vice-chairman said that the club is unlikely to sign off on allowing Spurs to play there, and that they would need to approve any other tenants there.

"In reality they probably could - but only with our permission," she said when asked if another club could move in to the Olympic Stadium.

"No-one has asked us for our permission and if they did we would probably say no, depending on who it is - if you get my drift.

"We are the anchor tenant for the winter matches and nothing else can happen in that time without our permission and our football matches take priority over everything else. If there are events at the stadium we have approved we do not see any of the revenue from that."

Tottenham will need a temporary home for the one season in 2017-18 that they have to spend away from White Hart Lane while their new stadium is built. The Olympic Stadium is one of the closest venues to North London that is of Premier League quality and it's clear that Spurs like it after trying to move in there permanently before West Ham won the lease. But part of West Ham's lead allows them to have veto power over any new tenants and it's tough to imagine them being receptive to Spurs moving in, even if just for a year.

The only way the Hammers will sign off is if they get a pretty big payday, but the rent at the Olympic Stadium was already going to be prohibitive before West Ham wanted to cash in. Unless there is a change of heart on the Hammers' end, this looks dead.

With the Olympic Stadium out, Spurs could look to Wembley. The Emirates is also technically an option and while Spurs haven't publicly ruled it out, Arsenal don't seem keen on it. If Tottenham can't agree to a deal at Wembley, Stadium mk in Milton Keynes looks to be the one-year home.