West Ham will be anchor tenants for the Olympic Stadium and whilst Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn is seeking a judicial review of the decision, that is ultimately unlikely to derail the process.
West Ham will be anchor tenants for the Olympic Stadium and whilst Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn is seeking a judicial review of the decision, that is ultimately unlikely to derail the process.
Not surprisingly, the deal has evoked a variety of reactions. However, what one has to bear in mind is that there was always going to be some financial loss for the taxpayer. That loss would have been greater if sporting use of the stadium had been confined to athletics and rugby. West Ham were always the most feasible football tennant, even if Spurs showed an interest at one time. Apart from anything else, Upton Park offers a regeneration opportunity.
West Ham should be able to start playing games there in August 2016. The roof will be extended and the seating capacity reduced from 80,000 to 60,000. Seats will slide over the running track to bring fans closer to the action.
In order to conclude the deal, the government agreed to pay an extra £25m towards the cost of converting the value (in terms of the total of public expenditure, this is a small sum). West Ham have agreed to increase their contribution from £5m to £15m and they will pay £2m a year in rent. Catering and hospitality revenue will be shared with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). West Ham and the LLDC now need to work together to sell the naming rights for a substantial sum.
The terms of the 99-year lease require West Ham to pay a proportion of any sale of the club in the next 10 years to the LLDC. Owners David Gold and David Sullivan say they have every intention of staying for that period.
Richard Caborn, who was sports minister at the time that the Olympic Stadium was planned, has claimed that the deal is a bad one for the taxpayer. However, comparisons with Manchester City and the Commonwealth Games are not entirely appropriate as that was initially a much smaller stadium which has subsequently been expanded.
Simon Inglis, known for his nostalgic books on football grounds, had an unusual view when he argued on Radio 5 that fans would be put off by the lack of atmosphere and Barry Hearn might be the eventual winner as fans would start to follow Orient! Inglis drew an analogy with West Ham’s failed tenure at the Memorial Ground which was reputed to hold 120,000. However, they left there in 1904 and we are well into the 21st century now.
Even so, some West Ham fans are understandably apprehensive about the move away from the Boleyn Ground and in a rather artificial attempt to reassure them, the club has announced that two of the stands at the new stadium will be named after Bobby Moore and Sir Trevor Brooking.