The London Legacy Development Corp. has been "ordered to publish the details of its controversial deal" with Premier League side West Ham over the Olympic Stadium in full, "following a failed appeal to the Information Tribunal," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The LLDC, which operates the Olympic Park on behalf of City Hall, had "argued that making the details of the contract public would harm commercial negotiations between its appointed stadium operator, Vinci, and other potential tenants and sponsors." It has been confirmed that West Ham will pay £15M ($21.4M) toward the conversion of the £701M ($998M) stadium to "make it suitable for both football and athletics," but other details -- including annual rent, understood to be around £2.5M ($3.5M), and the specifics of other payments -- "have so far been withheld." The Information Tribunal, upholding an earlier decision by the Information Commissioner that the contract should be published in full under Freedom of Information rules, "decided unanimously to reject the appeal." It said the fact that anchor tenants West Ham, which will move into the 60,000 capacity stadium at the end of the season, "did not choose to appear before the Tribunal harmed the LLDC’s case." And it was "not convinced of the LLDC’s case that disclosing details of the 99-year lease agreement with West Ham, which makes it the anchor tenant during the football season, would significantly harm negotiations with other potential users." Unless it decides to appeal again, "a decision that can be made only on limited legal grounds and would increase costs that have already risen" beyond £21,000 ($30,000), the LLDC has 35 days to publish the contract in full. A spokesperson for the coalition said, "We're naturally delighted with the outcome, as we see this as an issue of fairness to the taxpayer, to clubs near and far, and to football as a whole." West Ham and outgoing London Mayor Boris Johnson have "continually argued that only a Premier League football club could provide the necessary income and profile to establish the Olympic Stadium without the need for ongoing subsidy from the taxpayer" (GUARDIAN, 4/11).
