EPL West Ham will "sell its Boleyn ground in east London to Galliard Homes in a deal to turn the stadium into a residential and retail complex," according to Blitz & Allen of the FINANCIAL TIMES. West Ham is "moving to the Olympic Stadium" in '16 as anchor tenant after it is "redeveloped to accommodate football." The sale to Galliard will "go through once the move to the Olympic stadium is complete." Galliard said it was "planning up to 700 homes, as well as retail, leisure and underground parking at the stadium site in Upton Park, which has a capacity of 35,000." Completion is set for late '18 after "30 months of construction." West Ham said that it chose Galliard over "better offers on the table from more aggressive developers" because of its "experience in sports stadia regeneration and its local knowledge" (
FT, 2/10). In London, Jonathan Prynn reported "no financial details have been disclosed but it is believed" that the club will raise less than the £71.2M ($116.9M) that the 35,016 "all-seater stadium is valued at in its accounts." However, "fully developed the site will eventually be worth hundreds of millions of pounds with the apartments expected to prove attractive to fans, investors and other buyers desperate to get a foothold in the London property market." Blocks of apartments will be "built around central public gardens where the pitch is currently laid, following the example set by Arsenal’s former Highbury stadium home in Islington." There are "even plans to ask fans and local residents to vote on naming apartment blocks after other West Ham 'legends' or key events in the club's history." The Garden of Remembrance where the "ashes of dozens of life-long Hammers fans are scattered will be 'retained, protected and incorporated into the new development.'" The plans were given the "seal of approval" by former West Ham player Bobby Moore's daughter, Roberta Moore (
EVENING STANDARD, 2/10).
