WEST Ham FC has said it is "amused" by suggestions it could share the Olympic Stadium with Leyton Orient after the Games have finished.

Orient chairman Barry Hearn told the Guardian yesterday (Thursday May 31) he wants to hold talks with Olympic legacy bosses about proposals to share the arena between the two clubs.

At the time, West Ham said they could not comment on any specifics for legal reasons, but it has now issued a statement mocking Mr Hearn.

It said: "We do not wish to comment on recent statements made by Barry Hearn not least because we can't keep up with his ever-changing position.

"They continue, however, to provide us with a constant source of amusement."

The club also confirmed it had no plans to talk with Mr Hearn about the proposals.

A fierce bidding war is currently underway over who will get to run the arena in Stratford – which is less than a mile away from Orient's current home in Brisbane Road, Leyton – with a final decision expected this October.

Orient fears it will lose fans if a high-profile rival moves onto the Olympic site, with Mr Hearn believing they would have "no choice" but to move from Leyton if that happened.

Mr Hearn told the Guardian yesterday: "originally we were interested in the tenancy for the Olympic Stadium but when we saw what they did with the athletics track it became clear it wouldn't be suitable for football.

"But now there's a suggestion that the Olympics people might install and pay for [retractable] seating over the track, which is why we're interested again."

He added: "If it happened, I wouldn't so much see it as ground share with West Ham. Leyton Orient would just be another tenant, so we would be one of a number of users."

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