A decision on the future of the Olympic Stadium was postponed Monday after weeks of heated debate on whether the venue should retain a running track after the 2012 London Games.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company had been scheduled to announce its decision on Friday but said it needs more time to study the bids from Premier League clubs Tottenham and West Ham.
Tottenham proposes tearing down the 537-million pound ($853 million) arena after the Olympics and building its own stadium on the site without a running track. West Ham would convert the stadium into a venue for soccer and athletics.
''Given the detailed nature of both bids received, we need more time to seek further clarification with both bidders in order to identify a preferred bidder,'' the OPLC said in a statement. ''The stadium is a significant public asset and we have a duty to run a robust process.''
The OPLC said it also was also considering reverting to its original plan of converting the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium to a 25,000-seat track and field arena.
The body didn't say when a decision would be made on its preferred bidder, but hopes to have a deal finalized by March.
Both clubs submitted their final bid details to the OPLC last Friday.
Tottenham would raze the stadium and build a 60,000-seat soccer-only arena on the east London site. It offers to refurbish the dilapidated Crystal Palace athletics stadium in south London into a 25,000-seat venue for track and field.
West Ham would keep the Olympic track and turn the stadium into a 60,000-seat venue for soccer, athletics, concerts and community use.
Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Olympic organizing committee, said Sunday that Britain would ''trash'' its international reputation if it went back on its original promise to retain a purpose-built home for athletics at the stadium. He said it was London's ''moral obligation'' to keep the track and field legacy.
Tottenham executive director Donna Cullen responded Monday that there was no use for a large athletics stadium and that such a venue would risk becoming a ''white elephant.''
''The promise of an athletics stadium for 25,000 can't take place as originally promised,'' Cullen said. ''We'd much rather see two successful stadiums, each dedicated to their sports, rather than an unsustainable compromise in one stadium. ... We feel that what we are offering is better than the promise made.''
