West Ham are open to buying the London Stadium but attempts to hold talks have fallen on deaf ears says reporter close to board

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West Ham are open to buying the London Stadium but attempts to hold talks have fallen on deaf ears says a reporter close to the board.

Many West Ham fans were – and remain – unhappy with aspects of the London Stadium since the big move to Stratford in 2016.

The major bone of contention has been the distance from the stands to the pitch and the fact West Ham no longer own their home ground.

And the only way to fix the former is to resolve the later. The issue with the gaps between the stands and the pitch will only ever be resolved if West Ham get their hands on the stadium as owners.

As supporters know only too well, the LLDC owns the stadium and West Ham are merely the anchor tenants.

That means David Sullivan, the Gold family, Daniel Kretinsky and Karren Brady currently have little say over certain key elements at their home ground.

Take for example the latest installation at the arena, the wall between the home and away supporters. It was put in by LLDC, killing any semblance of atmosphere that was generated in the ground.

There is genuine hope the Hammers could one day own the stadium themselves and be masters of their own destiny.

In December BBC journalist Simon Stone reported that all parties could be open to a London Stadium buyout by West Ham.

So fans were excited by claims that Kretinsky attended West Ham’s draw with Chelsea last month and held talks with LLDC CEO Lyn Garner over potential ownership of the stadium.

Unfortunately a senior source inside West Ham told Hammers News there was no truth to those reports.

There is good news for supporters desperate to see the club own the ground, though.

Because West Ham are open to buying the London Stadium but attempts to hold talks have fallen on deaf ears says a reporter close to the board.

That’s according to Sean Whetstone who has posted correspondence between West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady and Garner on social media as proof.

The documents also show how relations between the two parties have been clearly impacted by LLDC’s secret discussions with PAI Capital about owning the stadium before their “attempts” to buy West Ham.

So much so in one letter Brady is urging Garner to meet her in person to discuss the possibilities having been trying to do so for three years.

“West Ham are open to purchasing, operating or controlling the London Stadium,” Whetstone said on Twitter.

“But it is falling on deaf ears at the LLDC.

“West Ham never received a formal takeover bid from PAI Capital and told LLDC they could avoided wasted time if they approached them on the matter first.”

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