West Ham can now get full control of the London Stadium just like Man City at the Etihad, leaving egg on the face of the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan.
The Hammers and Manchester City have a close affinity on and off the pitch.
That relationship dates back to a famous game between West Ham and Man City back in 1987.
Man City’s ownership may be far wealthier than West Ham’s.
And the Premier League rivals operate at different levels as a result.
But the West Ham and Manchester City fanbases share a lot in common.
And that could be in a very literal sense soon.
One of the big issues West Ham fans had with the club’s move to London Stadium was the fact they no longer owned their own ground.
Instead West Ham are anchor tenants of the former Olympic Stadium having signed up to a 99-year lease described by some as the ‘deal of the century’.
Although the Hammers have made some minor changes to the stadium to appease disgruntled fans, the gaps between the upper and lower tiers and from the stands to the pitch is a major bone of contention.
Especially as West Ham originally promised fans a world class retractable seating solution.
West Ham’s new home discomfort
The nature of the bowl-shaped arena means major work would need to be undertaken to transform the London Stadium into a bonafide football ground.
Claims the Hammers could buy or take control of the ground, redevelop it and land a lucrative naming rights deal have proved false dawns so far.
The stadium has become a financial drain for the London Legacy Development Corporation as its long-term contracts with both West Ham and UK Athletics continue to make a loss.
That prompted suggestions that the Hammers could take the 62,500-capacity arena off the hands of the LLDC.
But London mayor Sadiq Khan poured cold water on talk of selling the London Stadium to West Ham, saying he considers the venue one of the city’s “crown jewels”.
And he insisted he is not interested in offloading it unless there is an offer that is “too good to say no to”.
Khan was made to look silly last week when a journalist exposed the fact the London Stadium costs taxpayers £500k for every game West Ham play there.
Well now Khan could be left with even more egg on his face.
West Ham can now get full control of the London Stadium
Because West Ham can now get full control of the London Stadium just like Man City at the Etihad.
The City of Manchester Stadium was built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
The stadium, originally proposed as an athletics arena in Manchester’s bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, was converted after the 2002 Commonwealth Games from a 38,000 capacity arena to a 48,000 seat football stadium at a cost to the city council of £22 million and to Manchester City of £20 million.
Man City agreed to lease the stadium from Manchester City Council and moved there from Maine Road.
In August 2015, a 7,000-seat third tier on the South Stand was completed, in time for the start of the 2015–16 football season. And A £300 million redevelopment programme of the existing North Stand entailing the construction of a new hotel with 400 rooms, covered fan park for 3,000 people and increased net capacity to 61,474 commenced in July 2023 and will be completed by the end of 2026.
Major development could see Hammers mirror Man City
Now it has emerged West Ham could take control of the London Stadium.
Hammers insider Sean Whetstone has revealed that big changes are afoot which could see the club have full control of the arena and the ability to run and manager it like Man City at the Etihad.
“From April 2025 the London Stadium will no longer be run or managed by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) which will be under new leadership,” Whetstone said.
“E20 Stadium LLP will continue to be run by Lyn Garner as part of Greater London Authority Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of the Great London Authority GLA funded by London taxpayers.
“The move in theory allows the GLA to explore granting a long lease to West Ham for the London Stadium which loses £15m in running costs per annum. A long lease would allow West Ham full control and ability to run and manage the stadium in a similar model to Manchester City and the Etihad.”
This is a major development and April will come around quickly.
West Ham have made some – mostly aesthetic – changes to the stadium layout since moving in eight years ago.
But controlling or owning the stadium will be key to any material changes that will significantly improve the stadium as a proper football ground.
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