The deal for West Ham to move into the Olympic Stadium has collapsed – and Spurs won’t be moving in either. The ongoing legal dispute with Spurs, but also that with Leyton Orient, has effectively torpedoed the deal in its current form for both clubs after concerns over the delays it was causing.
The deal for West Ham to move into the Olympic Stadium has collapsed – and Spurs won’t be moving in either. The ongoing legal dispute with Spurs, but also that with Leyton Orient, has effectively torpedoed the deal in its current form for both clubs after concerns over the delays it was causing.
The last straw was when an anonymous complaint was made to the European Commission last week, presumably about a breach of state aid rules, which could have led to even longer delays. The Olympic Park Legacy Company has set a deadline of 2014 for the new stadium tenants to move in. For that to happen on schedule, an application for planning permission for the necessary work has to be in by next March.
The stadium will remain in public hands and will be rented on an annual basis to a new anchor tenant. This could still be West Ham. The new arrangement could be more financially attractive to West Ham as it would only cost £2m a year to lease the new stadium.
The potential downside is that there would not be the security of tenure that a football club needs. Although in practice it is unlikely that they would be thrown out, they might face future rent hikes. In any event the decision has to be re-thought and is now surrounded with more uncertainity.
Spurs now have a feasible plan for redevelopment at White Hart Lane. The biggest winners would be Leyton Orient if the stadium did not have a football tenant, but no one else could offer as much revenue.