West Ham’s Olympic Stadium running costs ‘to be funded by taxpayer’

A significant amount of West Ham’s running costs at the Olympic Stadium will be paid for by the taxpayer once the Premier League side move into the venue next year, according to a BBC documentary.

The documentary alleges a number of facilities and services at the £700m stadium – including maintenance, security, goalposts and corner flags – will be funded by the taxpayer, amounting to between £1.4m-2.5m a year.

Given that West Ham will be paying around £2.5m in annual rent when they move in, the programme claims the public money effectively means the east London club will occupy the Olympic Stadium virtually rent free.

The Olympic Stadium: How the Hammers Struck Gold – the documentary that obtained some redacted details of the club’s rental agreement through a freedom of information request – also suggests a number of other overheads including stewarding and policing could be paid by the London Legacy Development Corporation.

It brings West Ham’s controversial move under greater scrutiny, with many having already been critical that the club has paid only £15m towards the £272m conversion costs needed to transform the stadium from an athletics venue to a 54,000-seat arena for top-flight football.

Chris Bryant, the shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, told the BBC: “To all intents and purposes, this is a contract which gives West Ham the stadium at a peppercorn rent at most or, to be honest, for no rent whatsoever”.

West Ham’s co-chairman, David Gold, wrote “you are badly misinformed” on Twitter when responding to a suggestion that taxpayers will foot the bill for policing and stewarding costs at the stadium from the 2016-17 season, and the club released a statement saying the taxpayer would benefit from food and beverage sales at the Olympic Stadium as well as from any naming rights deal.

A statement said: “Without us the stadium would lose money. The suggestion we are getting the stadium rent free is categorically wrong – we are more than paying our way.

“Our agreement with the LLDC will see West Ham make a substantial capital contribution towards the conversion works of a stadium on top of a multimillion-pound annual usage fee, a share of food and catering sales, plus provide extra value to the naming rights agreement.

“Our presence underwrites the multi-use legacy of the stadium and our contribution alone will pay back more than the cost of building and converting the stadium over the course of our tenancy.”

West Ham added in a later statement: “The worldwide draw of hosting the most popular and watched football league in the world in such an iconic venue will add value to any sponsorship and commercial agreements related to the stadium, which the public purse stands to further benefit from. It is clear that the linking of the naming rights to West Ham United generates real cash value for the LLDC and the taxpayer.

“Our move to Stratford will also create more than 700 jobs, provide over a million visitors to the [Olympic] Park each year and an opportunity to help tens of thousands more disadvantaged youngsters through the expansion of our West Ham United Foundation.”