Kieran Maguire: West Ham are ‘out of control’ as £250m-plus deal on cards
West Ham are in “complete lack of control” at the London Stadium – and it is not hard to see why they might want to buy the ground outright.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Hammers’ rental agreement at the 66,000-seater arena.
The club agreed in 2016 to pay London Legacy Development Corporation a variable rate of around £2.5million per season over the course of a 100-year lease at the former Olympic venue.
But the relationship between LLDC and West Ham has been a turbulent one, with the landlords – and ultimately the taxpayer – losing millions every year in maintenance costs.
BBC Sports reported last Friday (16 December) that West Ham remain open to the idea of buying the London Stadium.
Maguire explained why the Irons might go down this route when a deal would almost certainly cost them more than they would pay over the course of the lease.
“West Ham have a fantastic tenancy agreement,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“However, being a tenant means being in complete lack of control when it comes to what happens with the London Stadium on non-matchdays. There are also some revenue restrictions on matchdays as well.
“If they buy the stadium, this will be down to whether they can secure a price which is acceptable to both the stadium owners and the owners of West Ham.
“In my view, they are in a stronger negotiating position because the council are losing money. Then, there is the potential to turn the London Stadium from a 20-25-day revenue earner to one that can earn money 300 or more days a year.
“However, given the location of the stadium, they will have to be creative in ways to make it attractive to commercial hospitality and other uses on non-matchdays.“
In other news, expert claims David Moyes’ “worst fear” has come true at West Ham after double development.