Giving Orient fans a voice
Leyton Orient Fans' Trust
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Olympic Stadium latest
1/25/2011

Media spotlight has at last fallen on the potential negative effect to Leyton Orient of a Premier League team moving in to the Olympic Stadium post-2012, and LOFT has been discussing this issue with several parties:

  • the football club and the supporters club, with a view to working out a joint strategy
  • the FSF and Supporters Direct for advice and support
  • supporters groups at West Ham and Tottenham who oppose their clubs being moved to Stratford.

One glaring oversight in the whole debacle over moving a football club to Stratford has been the lack of supporter consultation. The driver for both West Ham's and Tottenham Hotspur's bid has been money; increasing capacity in order to generate more revenue, or in short, as a means to make some rich people even richer. The wishes of supporters haven't even been sought, let alone considered, and the Premier League has demonstrated a breathtaking arrogance in supposedly sanctioning any move without ostensibly considering the impact on Leyton Orient, as mandated in their own rules.
 
Barry Hearn's success in getting Leyton Orient talked about in the media regarding the stadium decision is to be applauded, and he is absolutely right to say that Orient's voice will and must be heard. At the same time, the voice of Orient's supporters as to what happens next must also be heard - O's fans are wary enough of Hearn's motivations in transferring the ownership of Brisbane Road to himself, and talk of potentially moving the club to the Olympic hockey stadium should not be seen as a potential cure without examining what it entails. LOFT committee member Tom Davies has expertly summed up the situation in this blog for the Guardian.
 
LOFT has called a Special General Meeting for Saturday 12 February at 1pm (pre-match against Bristol Rovers) to allow members to discuss both the Olympic stadium effect on Leyton Orient's future, and also - as agreed at our AGM earlier in the season - to discuss the strategy document previously drawn up. The meeting will be held where LOFT was formed ten years ago this year, namely upstairs at the Birkbeck. All O's fans are welcome, admittance by membership only (non-members are welcome to join on the door or in advance for as little as £1 - though we'd welcome more - by clicking here.





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