Kieran Maguire: West Ham set for ‘£50m’ extra after big development
West Ham will earn over £50million per season in matchday income by increasing the capacity of the London Stadium.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that the Hammers will close the gap to the ‘Big Six’ through their latest stadium development.
As reported by the Daily Mail, West Ham are set to apply to expand their matchday capacity to 68,000 seats at the London Stadium.
Current licensing regulations mean the Hammers are limited to 62,500 fans at a home game despite the stadium’s expansion last year increasing the number of seats to 68,000.
If West Ham’s application is approved, they will boast the second-largest home stadium in the Premier League behind only Old Trafford.
The amount of rent paid to landlords LLDC is set to increase to £3.7million per year, but the boost to matchday income will easily outweigh the rent increase.
Maguire believes the expanded capacity will see the Hammers break the £50million milestone in terms of matchday income.
“I think a lot of it depends upon where those tickets are located,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“Are there going to be more hospitality packages or will they attract more day ticket fans who tend to spend more than season ticket holders?
“If we take a look at the 2021/22 accounts, West Ham generated £41 million in matchday revenue.
“That’s very much best of the rest and puts West Ham just outside of the the ‘Big Six’, so they are one of the leading clubs in terms of matchday revenue.
“I think they will want to hit £50million a year with this expansion.
“If the tickets are priced correctly and if the tickets contain enough corporate involvement then that is feasible.
“That puts them substantially above a lot of clubs that West Ham are competing with in the Premier League.“
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