Taxpayers will contribute up to £185M ($300M) toward the "cost of converting the Olympic Stadium," according to SKY SPORTS. Sources said that redevelopment work costing as much as £200M ($324.1M) is "needed before" EPL West Ham moves into "the Newham venue on a 99-year lease" in '16. West Ham "must hand over" just £15M ($24.3M) of that figure, with the "remainder of the cost borne by the London Legacy Development Corporation," which will pay £120M ($194.5M), the Newham Council (£40M (64.8M)) and "the Government" (£25M ($40.5M)). The LLDC, the "body responsible for overseeing the transformation work," said, "The stadium transformation has been delivered through public competitive processes to ensure best value for taxpayers." A West Ham spokesperson pointed out "taxpayers will recoup money for the duration of the 99-year lease in rent, catering receipts and naming rights." The venue will "also host events unrelated to West Ham, including 2015 Rugby World Cup games, rock concerts and the 2017 World Athletics Championships" (SKY SPORTS, 11/22).
