London Stadium Dispute Continues as Owners Cite Fan Unrest for Spiralling Hosting Costs
The owners of the London Stadium have claimed that the recent fan unrest means that home matches for the Hammers cost an average of £270,000, as a dispute between the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and West Ham's owners over the stadium's rent escalates.
Both West Ham and the owners of the stadium, the LLDC have become caught in a war of words concerning the financial agreement between the two parties.
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Lyn Garner, the Chief executive for the LLDC stated that the £2.5m annual sum West Ham pay to host matches at the London Stadium doesn't even cover the cost of hosting matches. West Ham responded by suggesting that the LLDC were purposefully deceiving the public and taxpayers, leaving tensions between both parties at an all time high.
Now Sir Peter Hendy, the chairman of LLDC, has weighed into the conversation, citing fan problems for high security costs, which supposedly amount to an £70,000 extra per game.
Hendy claims in an open letter (via the Telegraph) that LLDC is losing £2m a year as a result of the deal that allows the Hammers use the ground for a yearly rent of £2.67m.
"Since then costs have increased, not least because the behaviour of a small minority of West Ham fans at the end of last season means we now spend more on security," he wrote in an open letter to a London assembly (via the Telegraph). "Each match so far this season costs an average of around £270,000 to stage."
Hendy went on to strenuously deny West Ham's allegations that his company had lied to the public and suggested that the east London club should consider retracting their previous statement.
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"This is an extremely serious and damaging statement to make against public officials appearing before elected Assembly Members and [we] will be asking West Ham to retract the claim. In the meantime, I wanted to reassure the Assembly that we are working in a proper and considered way.
"I will also be making this letter public because there was media coverage of the West Ham statement including reports that we 'lied'."
