The Olympic Park Legacy Company is due to decide next Friday between competing bids for the stadium put forward by the two Barclays Premier League clubs, but League One Leyton Orient claim they have been squeezed out of the process, despite the major impact it is likely to have on them.
"A huge question mark hangs over our long-term viability at Brisbane Road with the move of another professional football club to within a mile of what has been our home since 1937," the club said in a statement. "It is tragic to think that the true legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games could be the death of one of football's most-established community clubs."
The statement continued: "Is that something those in the corridors of power are prepared to shoulder the responsibility for?"
Orient in particular claimed that the prospect of a larger stadium that allowed for cheaper Premier League tickets would rob them of casual fans.
"The prospect of excess capacity leading to discounted tickets and the broader appeal of floating fans of a more high-profile club threatens to swamp us," the statement said.
Orient pointed to Premier League and Football League rules which state that consent shall only be given for clubs to move if it "would not adversely affect clubs having their registered grounds in the immediate vicinity of the proposed location".
The statement went on: "The club has appealed to the Premier League and the Football League, both of whom would be in breach of their own regulations if they were to sanction a move for either West Ham United or Tottenham Hotspur, but the silence is deafening..."
"Brisbane Road sits one long goal-kick from the Olympic Park, there is no question that it is within the 'immediate vicinity'. Surely their boards will recognise this at their respective meetings when the application to move ground comes in from either West Ham United or Tottenham Hotspur?
"All parties must endeavour to find a solution which will satisfy all parties and whilst we are sure there will always be a Leyton Orient we can't take it for granted, sit back and be steamrollered out of existence. At this time, our voice must be heard."
Source: PA
Source: PA