WEST Ham United would not be able to afford to move into the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, the Echo can reveal.

Instead, the London Development Agency (LDA) is determined to push through plans to move the Hammers to a purpose-built 50,000-seater stadium next-door to West Ham Tube station.

Former Irons chairman Eggert Magnusson first expressed the club's interest in moving into the Olympic arena in November 2006.

However, as a condition of winning the 2012 Games, the London Olympic Board are required to provide a stadium with an athletics and community sports-for-all legacy, which involves keeping the running track.

Although it has been suggested that West Ham could buy the stadium and install retractable seating to enable it to be used for both football and athletics, an LDA source has told the Echo this – with an estimated cost of £400million – would be far too dear an option.

“It will be far too an expensive option to be realistic and this has been discussed with them. On that basis we are really looking at athletics as the core use for the stadium,” said the source.

One solution could be for the Hammers to rent the stadium in the same way Manchester City rent the City of Manchester Stadium from Sport England for £2million-a-year.

However, the major difference is the presence of a regional athletics centre next-door – a facility that would not exist in East London.

So it appears that the only remaining re-location option open to West Ham is the re-development of the former Parcelforce depot near West Ham Tube station, two miles from the club’s current Upton Park home.

The Irons could buy the 31-acre site from the LDA for around £15million, with a purpose-built 50,000-capacity arena and associated hotel and leisure facilities costing a further £200million.

There are complications with this option too, however.

First, the LDA having ear-marked the site for a new regional bus station, while Irons’ chief executive Scott Duxbury has admitted that the presence of gas holders could render development of the site problematic.

With all this in mind, an LDA spokesman told the Echo: “The LDA continues to have regular discussions with West Ham Football Club about a possible new stadium at the Parcelforce site. West Ham are still considering this option.”

A third would see West Ham remain at the Boleyn Ground and expand the stadium from 35,000 to around 50,000 seats.

A club spokesman confirmed that all three choices were still on the table, saying: “We are continuing discussions with the LDA over all available options.”