The L
ondon Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) misled London Assembly members this afternoon by suggesting the corporation loses between £250,000 and £260,000 every time West Ham plays at the London Stadium excluding any seat move costs.
LLDC Deputy CEO Gerry Murphy suggested the figure was a net figure excluding any revenue from catering or rent from West Ham to the London Assembly budget and performance committee chaired by a West Ham season ticket holder Len Duvall.
Hower Murphy’s sums are wrong, the Moore Stephens report published last year revealed that West Ham match day costs are around £220,000 per game minus £30,000 per game profit share the LLDC receive in catering revenue. It has been well reported that West Ham match costs increased by £70,000 per match after Burnley troubles so the gross total is now closer to £290,000 per game minus the £30,000 for catering profit so the total is around the £260,000 per game which Murphy quoted.
However, that figure crucially doesn’t include the West Ham rent of £2.9m per year which when split over 21 games takes off £138,000 per game. There are also a number of other revenue streams they failed to mention. These include pourage sponsorship from Heineken worth £550,000 per year or £75,000 per West Ham game and other sponsorship/advertising worth at least £50,000 per match. They also earn 10% of the pitch side LED advertising worth £35,000 per match without taking into account the midtier LED advertising of which the revenue is unknown.
The reality is that West Ham games face their own face as the sums below show and they should make a small profit of £38,000 per game on running costs alone.
Event day cost of West Ham match post-Burnley
£290,000 per game
Subtractions/Revenue
West Ham rent £138,000 per game
Pourage rights £75,000 per game
Advertising £50,000 per game
Catering profit share £30,000 per game
Shared of pitchside LED advertising £35,000
Total Revenue per West Ham game = £328,000