MARTYN Rooney says Crystal Palace Football Club should move in and build a new stadium at the National Sports Centre as a result of the track's blue-riband event moving to the Olympic Stadium.
The 400-metre sprinter, who is currently away in South Africa on a training camp, is a big Eagles fan and believes there's a lot of potential to house football matches and athletics at the same venue.
"As a club, Palace will need to redevelop to compete with other clubs in the Premier League and closer to home in the Championship," he exclusively told Advertiser Sport.
"New stadiums tend to bring in bigger crowds and are attractive to investors - I'd like to see Palace come in.
"In an ideal world, it would have retractable stands that would allow a track to be built around the pitch, but that would need huge investment and I don't think the club have those funds available, even with the sale of Wilfried Zaha.
"I remember co-chairman Steve Parish talking about moving to Crystal Palace Park in 2011 and talking about a brighter future for the club and the local community. Hopefully those plans will come to fruition."
And despite the Diamond League meeting moving to the Olympic Stadium, Rooney says there are other issues that need addressing to make it work.
"I'm in two minds about it," he said. "It's sad to see the highlight of the British Athletics calendar leave south London, but as a UK tax payer I want to see the Olympic Stadium used.
"It's obviously a positive for athletes to race on one of the best tracks in the world and hopefully we can recapture the magic of the Olympics.
"But they're going to need to change the tax rules to bring in the highest calibre athletes and put bums on seats.
"But with a state-of-the-art Olympic facility within the same city, I can't see Crystal Palace holding any major athletics events in the near future."
The 25-year-old admits if there is any chance of holding a major event again in south London, upgrades are imperative, but insisted there is still so much that can be done to generate life back into the venue again.
"It's a shame as it always put on a great event and in recent years they've sold out both days," he said.
"But for foreign athletes coming over to compete, it's not as popular as meets on the continent like Zurich, Brussels or Lausanne, and with some modernisation in the warm-up areas, it could be a world-class facility again.
"The stadium has needed large investment for years and the potential for the park is huge as it has great rail links with a train station on site and space to develop.
"I'm not sure about the future of the stadium, but within south London we have a wealth of community tracks, so as long as there are clubs like Croydon Harriers AC, there will always be opportunities for the local kids to get into athletics."
Despite the news, Rooney, who reached the final at the Olympics in 2008 and won a silver medal at the World Championships in 2009, says Crystal Palace will always hold memories for so many athletes, including himself.
"It's sad for me as it's been a huge part of my development as an athlete," he said.
"I've trained and raced there as a child and I've gone on to compete and win against the world's best there.
"A highlight was winning with a personal best in 2008, so it's a pretty important place.
"I don't think it will be forgotten in the history of British athletics."
