Financial expert Kieran Maguire has praised West Ham’s agreement which sees them rent the London Stadium as a very smart deal.
The club left their iconic ground Upton Park in 2016, and moved to the London Stadium, which was built for the 2012 Olympics.
With a capacity of 66,000, the London Stadium can hold nearly double the number of supporters as the 35,000-seat Upton Park could, and is also used for other major events beyond football.
Instead of building a new ground, West Ham made the short trip across East London and did not even have to pay too much for it.
Speaking to Football Insider, Maguire praised the deal, which sees the club pay £2.5m rent per year to use the ground, whilst additional costs including security are funded by the taxpayer.
“There is no doubt that the club have got the deal of the century in terms of the London Stadium.
“The trouble is that if one party has a fantastic deal, the other tends to end up with a poor deal. This does appear to be the case as far as the landlords of the stadium are concerned.
“That is ultimately passed to the taxpayer if the landlords end up losing money.
“Credit has to be given to West Ham for negotiating such a deal, which is so beneficial for the club. It means they have effectively outsmarted everyone they were negotiating with.“
TIF thoughts on the London Stadium…
Whilst West Ham have struck gold in a commercial sense, the ground has been criticised by fans of the club, as despite its large capacity, there is less character than there was at their previous home.
Shortly after the move, West Ham legend Billy Bonds stated that it was “not a football ground,” and that “it seems strange,” because of the large distances between the pitch and seating area.
Originally built as an Athletics stadium, there was a running track between the pitch and seats which has now been removed, but the viewer experience at the stadium is not a good one, and despite the cost, the supporters were happier in their smaller ground.