West Ham's new stadium

[Ricky Otto]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33214058

Have just been reading about the Olympic stadium conversion and the whole thing from start to finish seems a shambles. I am not your typical West Ham hating Shrimper, I come from a West Ham supporting family and if I'm honest quite like to see them do well. The deal they have struck is sickening though and I think I'll look at them differently in future as there is clear bias and favouritism towards them. How can the goverment justify giving a shiny new 54,000 seater stadium for £15m and an estimated £2m a yr rent when the conversion costs are £272m alone! Tax payers money funding a football club that less than 1% of the population support. I can't see how this is anything but an abuse of public money and West Ham owe us all. The cynic in me also believes that staunch tory Karen Brady has got a big part in this corruption, as if we needed another reason to dislike her.

 

[Ricky Otto]

Why does it auto change west h@m to wet spam?

 

[londonblue]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33214058

Have just been reading about the Olympic stadium conversion and the whole thing from start to finish seems a shambles. I am not your typical West Ham hating Shrimper, I come from a West Ham supporting family and if I'm honest quite like to see them do well. The deal they have struck is sickening though and I think I'll look at them differently in future as there is clear bias and favouritism towards them. How can the goverment justify giving a shiny new 54,000 seater stadium for £15m and an estimated £2m a yr rent when the conversion costs are £272m alone! Tax payers money funding a football club that less than 1% of the population support. I can't see how this is anything but an abuse of public money and West Ham owe us all. The cynic in me also believes that staunch tory Karen Brady has got a big part in this corruption, as if we needed another reason to dislike her.

I assume you mean Baroness Brady CBE?

 

[Supernaut]

Baroness Brady CBE?

If she's a ****ing whore as well, then yes.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Got to make use of that Olympic Stadium somehow! Love to know how they're going to fill 80,000 seats when they're in the Championship. :hilarious:

 

[EastStandBlue]

I've written about this case on here before. It's one of the most disgusting cases of state aid in sport I've heard of. How can West Ham get away with paying what they have done for essentially a lifetime lease on a stadium paid for by the public, and be allowed to sell their existing stadium for private development? It's utter bollocks. It pains me to agree with Barry Hearn, but there really ought to be a judicial review into this because it ****ing stinks.

 

[Ricky Otto]

I've written about this case on here before. It's one of the most disgusting cases of state aid in sport I've heard of. How can Wet Spam get away with paying what they have done for essentially a lifetime lease on a stadium paid for by the public, and be allowed to sell their existing stadium for private development? It's utter bollocks. It pains me to agree with Barry Hearn, but there really ought to be a judicial review into this because it ****ing stinks.

Completely agree and am really surprised that there hasn't been more public uproar over this.

 

[Ricky Otto]

Got to make use of that Olympic Stadium somehow! Love to know how they're going to fill 80,000 seats when they're in the Championship. :hilarious:

it's 54,000 now we have spent £272m converting it for them, it's ok though, they paid £15m of that:thumbdown:

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Agreed. It's a scandal.

 

[londonblue]

Completely agree and am really surprised that there hasn't been more public uproar over this.

As you say it might have something to do with the tory life peer Baroness Brady CBE.

 

[londonblue]

it's 54,000 now we have spent £272m converting it for them, it's ok though, they paid £15m of that:thumbdown:

Which I presume is a lot less than they'll sell Upton Park for.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Which I presume is a lot less than they'll sell Upton Park for.

They've already sold it to Galliard. Fee was never disclosed, but was reported to be slightly less than the £71.2m the ground was valued at in the club's accounts.

For argument’s sake let’s say they got £70m. Subtract the £15m they had to pay for the Olympic Stadium’s redevelopment and the £35m club debt they had to clear in order to secure the tenancy, they’ve still managed to make a £20m profit on the deal. Or a decade’s worth of rent.

 

[Ricky Otto]

They've already sold it to Galliard. Fee was never disclosed, but was reported to be slightly less than the £71.2m the ground was valued at in the club's accounts.

For argument’s sake let’s say they got £70m. Subtract the £15m they had to pay for the Olympic Stadium’s redevelopment and the £35m club debt they had to clear in order to secure the tenancy, they’ve still managed to make a £20m profit on the deal. Or a decade’s worth of rent.

So in effect, tax money has been used to clear West H@m's debt. Ron, time to become a tory peer

 

[Ricky Otto]

They've already sold it to Galliard. Fee was never disclosed, but was reported to be slightly less than the £71.2m the ground was valued at in the club's accounts.

For argument’s sake let’s say they got £70m. Subtract the £15m they had to pay for the Olympic Stadium’s redevelopment and the £35m club debt they had to clear in order to secure the tenancy, they’ve still managed to make a £20m profit on the deal. Or a decade’s worth of rent.

That's another thing that rankles, there is so much undisclosed information. You would hope a deal that involves taxpayers money would have as much transparency as possible

 

[EastStandBlue]

That's another thing that rankles, there is so much undisclosed information. You would hope a deal that involves taxpayers money would have as much transparency as possible

That's what Hearn's called for today. He wants all details disclosed.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Labour MP Chris Bryant has gotten involved now, demanding details of the deal be made public and saying it has the “feel of a fiasco”.

 

[Ricky Otto]

Labour MP Chris Bryant has gotten involved now, demanding details of the deal be made public and saying it has the “feel of a fiasco”.

Still feels like this is going under the radar, really surprised more has not been made of this

 

[EastStandBlue]

Beeb documentary tonight, 7pm on BBC One. Teased details from the show claim that West Ham have effectively got it "rent free".

 

[MK Shrimper]

Beeb documentary tonight, 7pm on BBC One. Teased details from the show claim that West Ham have effectively got it "rent free".

The Olympic "legacy" which shows, after repeated promises in 2012, after it's all over and the fuss has gone, there's no more take up of sport than at any other time. Same as when Wimbledon is on, you see kids with tennis rackets. Back to the XBox the following week.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Pretty much as expected. An absolute scandal in need of a thorough review.