Hammers may be preparing for Stadium talks

By Sean Whetstone

West Ham may well be negotiating a long lease for the London Stadium soon in an ultimate bid to give themselves complete control of the former Olympic Stadium.

Investment firm PAI Capital agreed a deal in principle with stadium owners, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), over a long lease of the Queen Elizabeth Park with all venues including the London Stadium.

With the takeover by that outfit failing it suggests that the public body must now be ready to do a deal withe the Hammers and Vice-Chairman Karren Brady will surely want to be offered the same terms or better than those offered to PAI.

At present West Ham have a 99-year concessionaire agreement signed in 2013 which gives them 25 days per year for around £3m in rent.

A long lease would give the Hammers complete control over the London Stadium including the operation and awarding of contracts.

That would allow us to pursue naming rights and rent out the stadium as a venue as we see fit to maximize its potential.

And one thing seems certain the club – as a private sector operation – would surely make a better job of things than those in the public sector spending not their own money but that of the taxpayer.