A Labour London Assembly member has told Mayor Sadiq Khan to consider selling London Stadium to West Ham United to avoid losing tens of millions of pounds a year. Bassam Mahfouz, who represents Ealing and Hillingdon, said the current arrangement had proved “disastrous” for London taxpayers.
London Stadium LLP, which is wholly owned by the Greater London Authority (GLA), revealed earlier this year that it loses around £19 million annually. West Ham pays up to £2.5 million in rent under its 99-year contract signed with the GLA in 2013, but under the same agreement the club does not contribute towards costs such as stewarding, policing and pitch maintenance.
Contract called “onerous”
Mahfouz believes the “onerous” contract puts too many “barriers” in the way of boosting income through more concerts. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that West Ham had “very little incentive” to agree to more concerts during the football season, and a “veto” over naming rights.
In a letter to Lord Khan, he said: “Whilst the onerous contract is not something that can be amended, a new way forward is possible if it were to be made redundant. That could be facilitated through a sale of the stadium to the club.”
Concert plans and fan support
London Stadium has applied to Newham Council to lift planning restrictions limiting the number of concerts it can host from ten a year to 24. However, the club gets priority use over the stadium during the football season.
Speaking at the London Assembly in July, stadium boss Lyn Gardner explained it can take two weeks to return the stadium to a football ground after its use for other events. This means that if the stadium wanted to host concerts in September, West Ham would have to play all of its matches away that month. The club also gets a say over the venue’s naming rights, which Gardner said had scuppered stadium sponsorship deals in the past.
Mahfouz told the LDRS: “The deal cannot be renegotiated. There’s very little incentive for the club to agree these things. It needs a refresh and a rethink – if you can’t renegotiate the deal you need something new on the table and that has to be a sale.” However, he said any deal should ensure athletics events can still take place at the stadium, which was built for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Fans attending West Ham’s match against Wrexham in September told the LDRS they supported a sale. One said: “It should happen – it’s not fair on the taxpayers paying for it, we want the stadium and see what we can do with it, and actually build a better stadium. It’s not a football stadium, it’s an athletics track. Nothing like Upton Park.” Another, Jamie, said: “I think they should sell it. I think it would be better for the club. They could do whatever they wanted with it, and I know a lot of taxpayers’ money goes to the stadium.”
A spokesperson for Lord Khan did not rule out a sale. They told the LDRS: “The mayor has been clear that he would consider any credible proposal for the stadium, provided it offers value for taxpayers, protects the public interest and preserves the wider economic, social and sporting benefits the venue delivers for London.” West Ham United declined to comment, but it is understood that the club will consider proposals from London Stadium for hosting additional events.
