West Ham United are in a secret multi-million-dollar battle with the owners of the London Stadium who have spent over £7 million on lawyers.
Reports have it that a new and secret tussle between the publicly funded London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) who are the owners of the London Stadium, and West Ham United is still in court over the former Olympics stadium.
According to reports, it is alleged that the true cost of maintaining the stadium which was an Olympic Stadium will reach £1 Billion before this decade ends. And this expenditure will be on the taxpayers.
The CEO of the LLDC, Lyn Garner, confirmed to London Assembly in a meeting that there was ‘a continuing, significant financial and legal dispute with West Ham.’
Reports confirmed that this revolves around the amount of money LLDC are due from an investment in West Ham United by Daniel Kretinsky – a Czech businessman in November 2021.
Kretinsky reportedly paid £168.75m for a 27 percent stake in the club.
West Ham also, was required to pay LLDC a fee under the terms of the stadium lease if the club’s owners profited financially from the transfer to the stadium within 10 years of signing the contract.
The investment made by Kretinsky was inclusive in the 10-year period and began as West Ham signed their deal back in March 2013 to extend it beyond the 2016-2017 season.
West Ham had paid LLDC a penalty fee which was worth £2.6 Million, however, LLDC who have allegedly confirmed that West Ham United’s tenancy is a strain on the public purse, believe that they can do more in regards to the contract.
The actual amount is not in public domain for now but there are reports that the agreement between the parties specifies a certain figure or percentage that LLDC are due as a ‘Stadium Premium Amount.’
This revelation however came as a shock as it was thought the agreement between both parties have fared considerably.
The MoS has also learnt that the taxpayer has spent a whopping £7.1 Million and counting in Legal fees since the club was awarded the stadium under a lease agreement.
In 2018, Garner reported the extraordinary extent to which West Ham United had received free services as part of their £2.5 Million annual rent which they reportedly paid nothing towards stewarding, heating, maintenance, cleaning, or even equipments including nets and goalposts.
West Ham United also did not pay catering staff, whilst LLDC kept revenue from food and drinks, the club had financial advantages most club didn’t have.
West Ham United declined request to comment on the ongoing case.
The cost so far has continued to be huge on the LLDC as it stands now.
The government used about £486 Million to build the London stadium and also an additional £274 million to convert right after the London 2012 Olympics.
West Ham paid £15 million of their part whilst Newham Council contributed £40 Million.
Despite the £760 million paid, E20 Stadium have recorded massive losses since West Ham United moved in, making £19.6 million and £29.1 million annually.
A majority of that losses were effectively spent on subsidising the London Club.
There were losses of about £10 million annually going forward and were seen as ‘extremely optimistic ‘ by the London Assembly in an official document and were forecasted to remain closer to £20 million yearly.
At this rate, spending on the stadium which is mostly public money will amount to £1 Billion by the year 2029.
