LONDON (AP) — The future of London’s Olympic Stadium will be opened up to a new bidding process after a disputed deal to award the flagship venue to West Ham soccer club was scrapped amid mounting legal challenges.

The $760 million stadium will remain in public ownership after the 2012 Olympics and be rented out to an anchor tenant, the government said Tuesday.

West Ham said it will bid again under the new terms that could be more financially favourable for the east London club, which was relegated from the Premier League in May.

The drawn-out wrangling for control of the stadium has been increasingly acrimonious since West Ham was selected ahead of London rival Tottenham in February as the long-term tenant.

“The action we have taken today is about removing the uncertainty — the process had become bogged down in legal paralysis,” British sports
minister Hugh Robertson said. “We know there is huge interest in the stadium out there from private operators and football clubs and crucially we remove any uncertainty.

“This is not a white elephant stadium where no one wants it. We have had two big clubs fighting tooth and nail to get it.”

Tottenham mounted a full legal challenge against the decision by West Ham’s local authority to provide a $63 million loan to fund the second-tier club’s move into the stadium. The case was due to be heard in court next week.