West Ham to Pay £2.5 Million per Season to Play at London Olympic Stadium

West Ham’s joint chairman David Gold with the club’s new home ground behind him (Image credit: ESPN)

West Ham United will end their 112-year stay at the Boleyn Ground, as they look to switch to the 60,000-seater London Olympic Stadium from next season.

West Ham’s rent for the 99-year commercial lease of the London Olympic Stadium will come down to merely £2.5 million a year, The Guardian reports. If West Ham are to be relegated at any point, the fee would be halved, to just £1.25 million, as per the agreement.

When the London Olympic Stadium was built for the 2012 Olympics, it was announced that the cost was £429 million, however another £272 million was pumped in to convert the ground to suit the standards of the English top flight. The Concession Agreement states that West Ham will only pay £15 million towards the cost of the conversion, which again highlights the massive bargain West Ham are getting from this deal.

The London Olympic Stadium has been converted to suit Premier League standards (Image credit: Sky Sports)

There are also a number of other clauses in the contract that can see West Ham pay six-to-seven-figure fees if certain conditions are met. For instance, the club will have to pay an additional £100,000 for every game they play over the currently agreed 25 per season. One other clause stipulates that the club has to shell out another £100,000 whenever they finish the season in the top half of the table. There are also many other performance-related bonuses that West Ham will have pay out in the event they win certain cups.

West Ham signed the deal with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), who are responsible for the London Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Park. The contract between the two parties was intended to remain a secret, however a tribunal ruling earlier this week ordered them to release the document. A coalition of 14 Supporters Trusts backed the Freedom of Information campaign which managed to collect 30,000 signatures to uncover the details of the contract.

A spokesperson from LLDC commented on the tribunal’s ruling and the organization’s intention to protect the taxpayers’ money. “We are disappointed by the tribunal’s decision. Our motivation in bringing this case has been to protect millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. The stadium needs to be a profitable and successful commercial operation otherwise it will rely on public subsidy,” said LLDC’s representative.

West Ham are playing their final season at Boleyn Ground (1904-2016) (Image credit: Who Ate All The Pies)

The club released a statement on their official website about moving to the London Olympic Stadium: “Working with our partners over the past three years, our vision, perseverance and unwavering belief in the stadium’s potential has helped design and create the magnificent 60,000 capacity venue we see today. It is a stadium that the nation can be proud of and we believe it will become one of the greatest football stadiums in the world.”

The club also stressed that they were given the “anchor concessionaire” rights for the London Olympic Stadium following an ethical and transparent process. “And let us not forget that West ham United were named anchor concessionaire of the stadium after a fair, transparent and robust process open to any organisation in the world. We were unanimously chosen as the anchor tenant, above others, including football clubs such as Tottenham hotspur and Leyton Orient, as we offered the best deal and the only option for a true and lasting legacy for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.”

West Ham are currently 6th on the table with 52 points and they face a stern test away this weekend against Premier League leaders Leicester City, who have been in scintillating form all season long. Betway Sports favours the home side 1.90 (10/11), with a draw being 3.60 (13/5). The Hammers on the other hand are underdogs with odds of 4.00 (3/1).

Leicester hold a solid home record (10 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss), while West Ham’s away record is not very convincing (6 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses), so The Foxes will likely clinch all three points from this game. (For more info about the online sportsbook, check out Betting Herald’s Betway Sports Review.)