EPL West Ham United delivered a final "take it or leave it" offer to the London Legacy Development Corp. on Friday as the long-running saga over the future of the Olympic Stadium enters its end game, according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The LLDC insists that it is determined to come to a resolution by the end of the year, and West Ham's latest offer, understood to "improve substantially on the £10M ($15.9M) upfront contribution to the £160M ($254.1M) conversion costs previously tabled, is designed to force the issue." West Ham has indicated numerous times it remains committed to moving to Stratford but "not at any price." Meanwhile, LLDC CEO Dennis Hone has said he wants to reach a solution with the club but "not at any cost to the taxpayer." The standoff has "created ongoing uncertainty" over the fate of the £468M ($743.3M) stadium. Others on the LLDC board believe that it now makes sense to walk away from EPL football, "which necessitates spending at least £160M on a new roof and retractable seats, and instead invest £30M ($47.6M) in getting ready to open as soon as possible as a multi-use venue without football" (GUARDIAN, 11/16).
