Stadium boss would “absolutely not” sign current deal with West Ham if it was on the table again but admits City Hall is now tied to for decades to come, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter

London Stadium and (inset) stadium boss Lyn Garner

City Hall is losing £19million every year due to the long-term deal signed with West Ham over the use of London Stadium, officials have revealed.

The agreement, signed in 2013, named West Ham United Football Club (WHUFC) as the former London 2012 Olympic stadium’s long-term tenants.

The deal, which lasts 99 years and has no break clause on the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) side, has been criticised by Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, who has blamed his predecessor Boris Johnson for failing to obtain better terms for the capital’s taxpayers.

This includes a clause which now sees the club, who were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, pay less than half the £4.6m annual rent they were responsible for while in the top flight.

Lyn Garner, chair of London Stadium LLP, the body set up to transform and manage the stadium, has now revealed the extent of the dire financial situation, which has been worsened by limited non-football events, such as concerts and athletics, being held at the ground.

“We are going to finalise the accounts at around a £19m operating loss,” she told the London Assembly’s economy, culture and skills committee this week. “This is not unusual. It’s been in this ballpark for some time.

“We have a few peaks and troughs, depending on how many summer events we have – 2025-26 was a particularly bad year for London Stadium, with only two summer concerts. This year is a bit better. With this summer, we’ve just hosted six events, five concerts and Soccer Aid.

“That’s helping with the finances. But, of course, it’s one step forward and two steps back because of the relegation reduction. So, we’re still in the same ballpark of about £19m.

“We have managed to drive efficiencies over several years. Commercial deals are much better than ever they were for the commercial rights that we own.

“However, of course, we remain responsible for all the overheads, all of the repair and maintenance for a huge national venue.”

Garner said she would “absolutely not” sign the current deal in place if it was presented to the organisation now, and said some vague aspects of the agreement have led to legal disputes over the contract.

“The relationship with the football club historically has been quite tense,” she told assembly members. “We’ve disagreed on interpretations around the contractual piece. And I don’t think that’s any surprise when the taxpayer is under such a huge pressure.

“It’s a very good contract for West Ham United. Well done, is what I say, in terms of the original negotiation – but it causes pressures and tensions.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s fair or not. A commercial deal was done, and we’re in a contract, and we must honour it. There are no break clauses in this contract, so we have to face into that and see what we can do around the edges to improve the situation.

“I’d like to see the whole thing set aside and to start again, but I can’t see that happening.”

West Ham were relegated last year after finishing the season on 39 points, two behind Tottenham Hotspur, whose own stadium is widely regarded to be a huge commercial success for the North London club.

Garner has now laid out a five-point plan to help mitigate some of the estimated £19m in annual losses at London Stadium LLP.

This includes seeing West Ham Women, who currently play their home games at Dagenham & Redbridge’s Chigwell Construction Stadium, relocate to London Stadium – with the club picking up the costs.

She added: “We would really desperately, like the club, like to see women’s football played at London Stadium. It’s not played at the moment because there’s a dispute about how it interacts with the contract and the cost of it.”

The London Stadium LLP will also look to see if they can imitate Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and host many more major concerts to bring in revenue. At the moment, Newham Council only allows the stadium to hold ten events a year outside football, compared to the North London club’s 50.

The plans going forward could include working with the club to put on a series of concerts in September, like Tottenham Hotspur do, while the team arranges to play their fixtures away from home to avoid any disruption.

Another simple fix to the stadium – which could presumably attract more fans into football games post-relegation – would be making it less “sterile”, Garner said.

“For example, one of the things we’ve considered inside the bowl is turning all the seats claret, West Ham coloured. “It’s an easy thing for us to do. It doesn’t affect our concerts or MLB [Major League Baseball] or anything else, but it would feel more intimate, more West Ham.”

Garner also suggested there was still some potential for commercial opportunities in the immediate land surrounding the stadium.

“In a couple of years, I’d like to think that we take our eyes off football a little bit and have a look at the real estate around the stadium and what other opportunities there are to make some commercial gains to bring down the pressure for the taxpayer,” she said.

“So one of those is development outside on the island in terms of more food and beverage developments. We’ve got plans coming forward at the moment. Another is looking at development around the back of the stadium in terms of potentially another leisure anchor where we’ve got a little bit of land we could exploit.”

Naming rights may have to wait, however, until the club returns to the top flight – or City Hall may face the risk of settling for another underwhelming deal.

“It’s probably not the right time to sell the naming rights when we’re in the Championship – we need to get back into the Premier League,” she said.

“But there are lots of preparatory things that we can do to present a united front in terms of putting the naming rights to the market.

“I don’t think it’s the number one priority, but I think it’s up there with other priorities. I’m a little bit pessimistic because of what’s happened in the past and, frankly, the hard bargain that the club has sought to drive in this area that I would like to see some flexibility on, because they do have a value, but I don’t want to sell those rights for ten years at an under price for the taxpayer.

“But in our position, we do have to share that pot – and sometimes it’s best to wait for the right commercial deal and the right partnership rather than simply do a deal that’s not giving the taxpayer the best result, I think.”

The committee had invited Karim Virani, the new interim chief executive officer (CEO) of West Ham United FC, and former mayor Boris Johnson, in front of the committee, but neither was able to make it.

Waltham Forest Echo

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