“We believe that Madison Square Garden’s scheme is fundamentally the wrong proposal, in the wrong location,” a spokesman for the company says.
In opposing the project, AEG insists that it “does not oppose another large music venue in London”.
“[But] a venue should not be located so close to existing venues at the Olympic Park – such as the London Stadium and Copper Box – as well as The O2 arena. It is imperative that MSG’s proposals do not add to congestion or overcrowding in the area, including on the public transport network, especially the Jubilee Line which is critical for the movement of guests to and from the O2 arena.”
The AEG remarks are the first public statements since it was implicated in a grassroots lobbying scandal last year.
AEG hired Sans Frontières Associates (SFA), a public relations firm originally set up by former Bell Pottinger boss Lord Bell, to assist Newham Action Group, a campaign group opposed to the Sphere. Lord Bell had no direct involvement in SFA’s operations.
MSG attacked the move as creating “myths and fears manufactured by shady lobbyists to subvert democracy”.
AEG insisted it was “not in any way trying to mislead any decision makers, only to inform local residents”
“AEG believed that it was right that residents had reliable information about the potential negative impacts of the scheme before an application was submitted, and therefore created a web page and paid for advertising hoardings, through a media buying agency, to be placed around Stratford in the name of the Newham Action Group,” it said.
Supporters of the Sphere point out that if anyone is likely to be concerned about the impact on the transport network, it is West Ham United. But the Premier League club, whose 60,000 seater stadium is even closer to the project than the O2, is sitting on the fence.
The club urges LLDC to “ensure that the proposals do not unacceptably impact on WHUFC’s [West Ham United] usages for matches in any way”.
Although at the heart of the Olympic Park, Newham leaders have regularly criticised the Government for forgetting about the community. Austerity hit many residents hard amid claims that the borough is “on the front line of London’s housing crisis”.
MSG says the Sphere will support more than 3,000 jobs a year and generate £2.7bn of economic benefit over a 20-year period.
Putting aside the battle between two of the world’s biggest sports and entertainment organisations, residents will need to decide if the investment into the area compensates them for the disruption to their community.
One local is unequivocal in their objection: “Stratford is not Piccadilly Circus.”