Oct 11 (Reuters) – A deal to award preferred bidder status for London’s main 2012 Olympic stadium to English soccer club West Ham United has collapsed, according to a BBC report on Tuesday.

The report said the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) had brought negotiations to an end amid a protracted dispute with Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

The Olympic Stadium with the figure 1 mown into the grass to mark one year to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, is seen in this undated aerial photograph released in London on July 27, 2011. - REUTERS

Tottenham Hotspur had been given a three-week ultimatum to accept a 17 million pound ($26.6 million) package to stay in north London and drop the legal battle over the future of the main Olympic stadium.

The BBC report said the stadium would be held in public ownership with a new winning bidder renting the venue instead of buying it.

Second-tier West Ham were selected to inherit the stadium, the centrepiece of the July 27-August 12 Games, in February.

($1 = 0.638 pounds)

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