Fresh questions have been raised over whether EPL side West Ham's deal to move into the Olympic Stadium "contravenes European state aid laws, potentially leaving the club liable for millions in compensation," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. London Assembly members, European state aid experts and lawyers have "questioned why" London Mayor Boris Johnson and the London Legacy Development Corp. did not obtain "prior approval" from the European Commission before signing the deal with West Ham. By not getting the agreement "signed off before concluding the deal with West Ham, the LLDC has left itself open" to a 10-year window for challenges from "anyone who feels disadvantaged by West Ham's deal," understood to be worth £2.5M ($3.7M) a year plus a "slice of catering revenues." That could include "rival clubs at home and abroad and, if the EC eventually found the LLDC had broken state aid rules, West Ham could be liable for millions." Theoretically, if "found in breach the total bill could equate" to the £138.9M ($207.4M) it is costing the public purse to "convert the stadium for football use plus the difference" between the £2.5M and "whatever the EC decided the market rate was." One legal expert said that she was surprised the LLDC had not sought "prior approval -- effectively a get-out-of-jail card for projects that involve injections of public funds -- after agreeing a deal with West Ham under a new tender process." The legal expert said, "I'm surprised they didn't do it. In the treaty there is a blanket prohibition on state aid, which is controlled by the EC" (GUARDIAN, 4/20).
