City Hall has heard a five-point plan for helping turn around the fortunes of the London Stadium.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) picks up the bill for operating West Ham’s ground – and its costs have escalated by about £2million this year now the club has been relegated to the Championship.
Lyn Garner, chair of the London Stadium LLP which owns and runs the ground, has warned “the financial situation remains challenging” as she accused the football club of frustrating cash-raising efforts.
She admitted the relationship between the club and the stadium owners had “historically been quite tense” but they were hopeful a recent change of management could mean more cooperation.
Karim Virani replaced Karren Brady who stepped down as vice-chair after 16 years in April.
At a meeting of the GLA’s Economy, Culture and Skills Committee this week, Ms Garner laid out five things the London Stadium LLP are in discussions with West Ham about to help improve the ground, and ease the burden on taxpayers.
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The London Stadium LLP wants to hold more concerts at the arena in a bid to raise cash.
This is because it holds athletics meets over the summer and only has a licence to host 10 concerts.
The London Stadium LLP is in talks with Newham Council about extending this.
Discussions are also being had with West Ham about playing more away matches in September so gigs could be held at the ground during the football season.
Ms Garner said: “Tottenham signed a 10-year contract with NFL, American Football. In October and around the autumn they put NFL on, and they ask the Premier League whether they can play away in that window.
“Our club could do the same if we wanted to make use of the September window for concerts. That’s what Tottenham do.”
Making the stadium less ‘sterile’
Colouring the white seats claret has been discussed as a way of making the London Stadium feel more like West Ham’s ground
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West Ham’s decision to leave Upton Park for the London Stadium ten years ago was controversial.
Fans have complained about the lack of atmosphere at the new ground, which feels more at home hosting athletics than football.
Ms Garner said the board was working to address the complaints.
One idea is to change the white seats to the team’s signature claret and sky blue colours.
“There could be some improvements for how the place looks and feels for West Ham fans,” Ms Garner told City Hall.
“I think probably it feels a bit sterile. It doesn’t feel like the home… One of the things we’ve considered inside the bowl is turning all the seats claret.
“It’s an easy thing for us to do… but it’s very costly, and it would take a long time to do that..But it would feel more intimate and more West Ham-like if the seats were claret as opposed to white.”
The London Stadium LLP and West Ham are set to have discussions about hosting women’s football at the ground.
A women’s match has not been held at the stadium since 2019 because of cost concerns.
Ms Garner said: “We would really desperately like to see women’s football played at London Stadium. It’s not played at the moment because there’s a dispute about how it interacts with the contract and the cost of it.
“We’d like West Ham to pick up the cost of the women’s games. They’d like us to run the games on the same basis as the men’s games.
“I think we’d all love it if we could get a bit of women’s football into London Stadium. And I think that’s going to be something that will come out of our discussions.”
West Ham United players await other results after the final whistle in the Premier League match at the London Stadium
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One of the biggest revenue raisers for the stadium would be selling the naming rights and this will be a crucial discussion over the coming months.
West Ham has been accused of frustrating attempts to do sign off a deal in the past.
Three naming rights contracts for the stadium have previously fallen through, including a potential £20 million sponsorship with in Vodafone 2017.
A contract with a “major sponsor” also collapsed in 2024 because the club refused to sign it off.
“We had a major sponsor at the table,” Ms Garner said.
“At the end, we could not get the club over the line to sign that deal. Part of it was to do with the amount of money changing hands for the IP of the club, but it would have been a fantastic partner for us.
“It was the closest we’ve ever come.”
She added: “It’s probably not the right time to sell the naming rights when we’re in the Championship. We need to get back into the Premier League.
“But there are lots of preparatory things that we can do to present a united front in terms of putting the naming rights to the market.
“Because one of the reasons the deal didn’t work in 2024 was because we were not a united front, and any partner coming to the table wants a clean, easy deal where they have a single point of contact and they can get on with their commercial opportunity.”
Food and drink offerings outside the stadium are set to be expanded.
“We want to do that in partnership with the club,” Ms Garner said.
“We get some return from food and beverage, and they get hospitality returns. So it’s a partnership that is an easy one to pull off.”
