West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has confirmed that the club will not receive any money from the naming rights at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford. Speaking in front of a House of Lords Select Committee into the legacy of London 2012, Brady answered questions about the process and the prospect of sharing the £538 million stadium with neighbours Leyton Orient. The Hammers were confirmed earlier in the year as anchor tenants at the arena from 2016 after lengthy negotiations with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), but Brady denied suggestions that West Ham had the LLDC ‘over a barrel’ during the negotiations. “It was not the case,” she said. “We are not the buyer or seller of the stadium, it was put out to tender and anyone worldwide could have bid for it. “We said we wanted to pay our own way and there were risks. “We own our own stadium, we decide what, when and how we do things. “We are investing a lot of money into the reconfiguration at the stadium and the retractable seating. The whole thing could not be done without the money we are putting in.” Brady appeared slightly ruffled when questioned about Leyton Orient and the prospect of a groundshare after listening to the comments of their chairman Barry Hearn, who had appeared just before her at the select committee. When asked if the club were prepared to share the arena if the LLDC changed their minds, she said: “It is part of a judicial review so I have to be mindful of the answers I give, but as part of the process everybody had to agree to the principle of groundsharing and we agreed to that. “It was up to the LLDC as to who would share with who.” She repeated that answer three times, but when pressed, she did have some barbed comments about Leyton Orient. “There is no precedent of groundsharing in the UK,” she said. “Leyton Orient had an average crowd of 4,200 last season. How they would occupy a 54,000 stadium is difficult to imagine, but that is a concern for them not me. “We are in different boroughs, we are currently 2.9 miles away from them and that will become 1.5 miles. A Leyton Orient fan is not going to wake up tomorrow and become a West Ham fan or vice versa.” She continued: “The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. We are not getting a free stadium. The stadium was built for the Olympics, but that has now gone. “The cost of keeping the stadium without anchor tenants would be huge to the tax payer. “With us the legacy of the stadium and its future have been ring-fenced and we have offered 100 years of commitment. The alternatives were a Formula One bid, a small college which is based in Burnley and a self-proclaimed community club.” Brady stressed that not only will they receive nothing from the naming rights of the stadium, they will also give the LLDC a lump sum to help with conversion cost which they intend to take from the sale of Upton Park. Any outstanding money would then go towards the debt the club is still in, but Brady was unable to estimate just how much cash is likely to be gleaned from the sale. “Upton Park has not been sold so we can’t determine the value. Whatever it is, it will be a considerable loss on the investment that West Ham have put into it. “The LLDC have asked for a lump sum and how we generate the money for that I don’t think they are overly concerned. “The market is very difficult,” she reflected. “We did have a tentative deal in place, but that fell away because of the numerous delays and that is no longer on the table. “We have made a financial commitment and that could mean that all the money from Upton Park would go to it. But selling Upton Park would create new jobs and new homes with the regeneration project in Newham as well as 700 new jobs at the Olympic Stadium. “There is a huge shortage of housing in Newham and we hope to help with that problem.” West Ham are scheduled to move into the stadium for the start of the 2016/17 season and Brady confirmed that there are safeguards should the worst come to the worst and the Hammers are relegated from the Premier League. “In the event that we could pay any rent or guarantee their commitment, the owners have guaranteed to meet the shortfall,” she said. “If the owners sell, they are also committed to give part of their profit to the LLDC. But David Gold was born in Green Street, David Sullivan went to University in east London and they have pulled their money together to buy the club they have always supported. “They are intending to leave the club to the many generations of their family to come.”
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:44:30 +0000
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