Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) executives have reportedly decided that the offer from West Ham, which pledged to retain the stadium’s running track, is a better solution than the rival bid from Tottenham Hotspur. An OPLC board meeting will take place on Friday, and if West Ham’s selection as preferred bidder is ratified, the proposal will then pass to London Mayor Boris Johnson and government ministers Jeremy Hunt and Eric Pickles for ratification.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe is among those who have called for the running track to be maintained in line with promises made to the International Olympic Committee back in 2005, when London secured the Games rights.

Earlier on Wednesday, Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) president and CEO Tim Leiweke claimed that West Ham’s plans would leave the stadium “broke in 10 years”. AEG has backed Tottenham’s proposal to demolish the stadium and build a football-specific venue on the same site.

In an effort to fulfil a commitment to ensuring an athletics legacy in London, Tottenham and AEG also pledged to revamp the Crystal Palace athletics stadium.

Leiweke also confirmed that AEG-owned Major League Soccer franchise the Los Angeles Galaxy is in the process of forming a strategic alliance with Tottenham. “We have an existing relationship now with Tottenham where we are beginning to think outside the box on football and how we do things together in football,” he said.