Boris ducks Hammers ground share question

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has refused to confirm whether or not West Ham has the power of veto should another football club want to share the Olympic Stadium. Questioned by the leader of the GLA Conservatives, Andrew Boff, during mayor’s question time this morning, Boris claimed that the question of West Ham’s power of veto was a “hypothetical one”. Boff asked the London  mayor a total of  five times if West Ham could block a bid from another Premier League football club to share the stadium.

Boris said: “It is a question for the Premier League as to whether two football clubs can share the same stadium. I want to see the Olympic Stadium used for all sorts of activities such as rugby, athletics and rock concerts.” he added that “no club had approached us about doing this”.

After his exchange with Boris, Boff said: “I will hold the Mayor’s Office and the LLDC’s feet to the fire over the future use of the Olympic Stadium. It concerns me that there was not a clear response from the mayor on whether any future premier league football tenant would have veto power over opportunities to exploit the stadium to limit the burden to the taxpayer.The mayor has said he would look at the legal position, and I will ensure that this is followed up. No football tenant can have veto power over the use of a stadium that was paid for through the public purse.”