Yesterday radio station Talk sport claimed that West Ham would pay for a beefed-up police presence at the London Stadium to prevent any repeat of the trouble which marred Saturday’s defeat to Burnley. They said ‘In light of this violence, West Ham have insisted that police officers be deployed inside the ground for the
five remaining home games of the season, according to The Guardian.West Ham are not technically responsible for security at the stadium, which is leased from the London Legacy Development Corporation.However it is understood that board members have expressed their willingness to help fund the additional security personnel.’
However a report in the Times this disputes this by saying “Safety officials are set to bring in more police and stewards for West Ham United’s next home match after last weekend’s crowd trouble, but the club will not have to pay for the extra security. West Ham’s £2.5 million-per-year lease agreement with the stadium’s owners means the club do not have to contribute financially towards the security even if their fans’ behaviour causes costs to rise. The publicly owned London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) will pay the extra costs.
The bill for policing and stewarding comes to about £90,000 per match, and that is likely to rise by several thousand pounds after an emergency meeting today of the London Stadium’s safety advisory group.”
i’m surprised that the cost of stewarding is expected to rise the current 1000 stewards that are employed are next to useless, they are uninterested, untrained. lots dont speak or understand much English, they stand about in groups often in your way, looking at their phones, some smirking when you walk past them after a defeat, i have had a few run ins with them. we need proper west ham fan stewards who understand the journey from station to ground who are trained in crowd control. 90k a game is about £87,500 too much
The police statement started “In light of this violence” ………. the only violence I seen was Mark Noble throwing a guy onto the pitch. As for the alleged coin throwing, A massive media presence and hundreds of fans with mobiles shooting footage …. and yet there’s not one piece of evidence of a coin being thrown. The stewards are unfit for purpose, half of the team are unfit for purpose, the board are unfit for purpose, the stadium is unfit for purpose. And still we wonder why its not working? Open your eyes people, this club of ours is in dire trouble.