The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) have been forced to publish the terms of West Ham’s deal for the Olympic Stadium, which the Premier League side will move into next season.
The deal is shockingly favorable to West Ham. If these were the final agreed numbers, what were the opening numbers That LLDC would pay West Ham to play there?
The deal calls for West Ham to pay just £2.5m a season to play 25 games at the Olympic Stadium next season. Not only is £100,000 a game rent laughable, but the Hammers will more than cover the £2.5m payment with gate receipts from their first match in the 60,000 seat stadium.
In addition the contract shows that the Hammers would make a greater contribution than £2.5m if they were to play more than 25 games per season, while the first £4m of any naming rights for the stadium would go to LLDC, with any figure above that split 50-50 between LLDC and West Ham. The club will have to pay an £1m if they win the Champion League.
Take a look at what West Ham is NOT paying for in their new home:
- Stadium heating, power, light, water and other relevant utilities;
- The Pitch in a Fit and Proper Condition, marked out for football
- Undersoil Heating and floodlighting
- Goalposts, goal nets and corner flags
- Seating area to accommodate the manager and substitutes of each team
- Seating Area to accommodate the Officials to be located between the manager and substitute’s
- Changing rooms for home and away teams, and officials
- Lavatory facilities for both sexes, available to members of the public
- A Stadium control room including a color CCTV surveillance system
- Pitch-side signage and jumbo video screens
- Drug-testing and medical facilities
No wonder that the LLDC did not want the details of the contract released to the public, with a spokesman stating that they were releasing this data grudgingly:
‘We are disappointed by the tribunal’s decision.
‘Our motivation in bringing this case has been to protect millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money.
‘The stadium needs to be a profitable and successful commercial operation otherwise it will rely on public subsidy.
‘We were concerned that the publication of this contract and the precedent it may set for future agreements could make it harder to do this.
‘However, we have decided not to seek leave to appeal, and have today made the contract available on our website.’