London Stadium owners E20 have announced that they are working on a new deal with UK Athletics (UKA) that will see athletics events fix dates at the former Olympic Stadium for the next six years. They claim the new deal will create greater flexibility in the London Stadium’s event calendar during the summer months freeing space for more events to be held
including a community athletics festival while reducing the overall cost of seat moves to minimise losses.
They say UK Athletics will benefit by having the certainty of avoiding clashes with other major events staged by the stadium and maximising income from broadcast rights and sponsorship with the dates set further in advance.
The current agreement shows that UK Athletics pays a basic £35,000 ‘Maintenance Fee’ for an exclusive six-week rental called the ‘Athletics window.’ An additional ‘Super Profit Payment’ is due for Athletic events that make a significant profit.
The current deal gives UK Athletics the exclusive use of the former Olympic Stadium for up to 45 days per year in what is termed the Athletics window which runs from the last Friday in June to the end of July or 1st August if the 31st July falls on a Sunday.
In November last year, E20 agreed on a variance in their concessionaire agreement with West Ham United in an out of court settlement which agreed on the extra capacity for the Hammers in return for extra funding. Last month E20 took over the ownership of stadium operator company London Stadium 185.
If the UK Athletics deal is re-negotiated it should be safe to assume that a review of the catering deal with Delaware North is also on the cards.