Olympic stadium set to host rugby league team

They could share the 25,000-capacity stadium with a rugby union club or League One football club Leyton Orient.

Skolars, who play in the game's third tier, believe such a move could prove key to them joining Harlequins in the Super League.

Three-year licences starting in 2015 are up for grabs and a prestigious new home and the absence of a rival in east London would count in Skolars' favour.

However, sceptics remain unconvinced that top-flight rugby can take root in the East End, where football dominates.

Several rugby union Premiership clubs, including Wasps and Saracens, have considered a move to the stadium but are concerned about leaving their traditional fan bases.

If a deal is clinched, it would be a remarkable turnaround for Skolars, who were formed by graduates playing on Hackney Marshes just 15 years ago.

The club turned professional in 2003 and play in National League Division Two at the New River Sports Stadium in Wood Green, attracting around 500 supporters.

Club chairman Hector McNeil said: "London rugby league is crying out for a second top-flight team in the capital and everyone would be happy with a London derby with the Harlequins. We've had talks with the Olympics consultants and are going through to the next stage on a shortlist basis. It would have to be a whole new set-up at the club aiming for a 5,000 average crowd and we would aim to ramp up all our capabilities."

After the Games, the main stadium will be reduced in capacity from 80,000 to 25,000 seats in a bid to avoid it becoming a costly "white elephant".

Negotiations over tenants for the venue are being handled by the freeholder, the London Development Agency.

Premier League club West Ham were originally considered the front-runner to become sole occupants of the stadium, but proposals were scuppered two years ago over the estimated £100million cost of converting the venue.

Leyton Orient then stepped into the fray, though club chairman Barry Hearn has recently demanded that Olympics chiefs pay for retractable seats over the venue's running track on match days.

The £500m stadium is being erected by Sir Robert McAlpine - builder of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium - with foundation work to begin three months ahead of schedule next week.

A spokesman for the LDA said: "We are looking at options to create a sustainable legacy for the Olympic stadium. As part of that process, we are having preliminary discussions with a range of potential occupiers.

"We have met the Rugby Football League but this is at the very early stages of the process to agree any tenancy."