EPL side West Ham will pay £2.5M ($3.5M) a year in rent for its new home at the Olympic Stadium, it has been confirmed, after the London Legacy Development Corp. was "forced to reveal full details of the contract," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. While the annual rental figure, which will halve to £1.25M ($1.77M) a season if West Ham is relegated, "was widely known, the publication of the full 207-page document reveals a host of other details about the controversial deal." The 60,000-capacity stadium will eventually have cost £701M ($993M) following an extensive £272M ($385M) conversion to "make it suitable for football." The contract "also confirms" that West Ham will pay £15M ($21M) toward the conversion cost. The LLDC had "fought hard to keep the contract a secret in the face of a determined Freedom of Information campaign" backed by a coalition of 14 supporters trusts and a petition signed by almost 30,000 people. But earlier this week a tribunal ruled that it "must publish." The contract reveals that the LLDC will keep the first £4M ($5.7M) of any naming rights deal for the stadium over a 20-year period and that "anything over that will be split 50-50." The LLDC will also keep the first £500,000 ($708,200) of any profit on catering, with "anything over that amount being split 70/30." It also confirms that the LLDC "will meet all the running costs for the stadium, providing everything from stewards to corner flags," and that West Ham must pay an additional £100,000 ($141,600) for each match it plays over an agreed total of 25 per season. West Ham must also pay up to £100,000 per season extra if it finishes in the top half of the Premier League and "various bonuses" if it wins domestic cups or qualifies for Europe, up to £1M ($1.42M) in the "unlikely event" it wins the Champions League (GUARDIAN, 4/14).
LLDC 'DISAPPOINTED': The London TELEGRAPH reported an LLDC spokesperson said, "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." West Ham was awarded a 99-year tenancy of the 60,000-seat Olympic Stadium ahead of Tottenham and will leave its Upton Park home this summer (TELEGRAPH, 4/14).
HEARN LASHES OUT: The BELFAST TELEGRAPH reported former League Two side Leyton Orient Chair Barry Hearn said that "his dog could have negotiated a better deal" than the one which will see West Ham play at the Olympic Stadium for £2.5M per year. Hearn, who "failed in a bid for Orient to share the stadium," said, "It's a hugely beneficial deal to West Ham and good luck to them. They've negotiated a good deal. I can't say the same for the LLDC who should go back to negotiation school. My dog could have negotiated a better deal for the taxpayer." Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger, who oversaw the Gunners' move from Highbury to the £390M, 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium and the "accompanied straitened spending," last week compared West Ham's deal to "winning the lottery." That was "prior to the full publication of the contract." The TaxPayers' Alliance on Thursday said that the contract was "ludicrously generous" and "the deal of the century." TaxPayers' Alliance CEO Jonathan Isaby said, "As sunlight is finally shone on this murky deal, you can understand why the LLDC was so reluctant to reveal the details as they have handed the Hammers the deal of the century" (BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 4/14).
