Tory MP slams ‘astronomical’ cost of West Ham Olympic Stadium deal

Transformation: the London Stadium
Getty
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A senior Conservative MP today hit out at the “incredibly generous” deal given to West Ham to take over the former Olympic Stadium.

Damian Collins, chairman of the Commons culture committee, backed an inquiry into the “astronomical” cost to taxpayers approved by ex-Mayor Boris Johnson.

He said the probe, announced by new Mayor Sadiq Khan, should ask whether Mr Johnson “was determined to get Premier League football to the stadium at almost any cost”.

Mr Collins told BBC Radio 4: “These costs seem to be out of control. I think most people would say West Ham have got an unbelievably good deal. Lessons should be learned from this saga.”

Mr Khan has expressed “deep concern” at the £50 million hike in the cost of turning the Olympic Stadium — now the London Stadium — from an athletics venue into a multi-purpose 60,000-seat venue fit for top-flight football.

Mr Collins said Manchester City paid half of a £40 million bill for converting the former Commonwealth Games stadium, while West Ham paid £15 million and a low rent for a transformation costing over £300 million.

West Ham have a 99-year lease and pay an annual rent of £2.5 million.

Mr Khan said: “I am deeply concerned by the serious financial issues with the Olympic Stadium.

"It has emerged that my predecessor oversaw a dramatic increase in costs as well as a series of poor decisions. In short, he left a complete financial mess.” The inquiry will look for savings and improvements.

There has been widespread criticism of the deal from politicians and supporters of rival clubs. Recent West Ham games at the stadium have also been marred by violence among fans.

The chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, John O’Connell said: “For too long the details of this shabby deal were kept secret so Sadiq Khan is right to look again at the case.

Instead of focusing anger on West Ham for taking advantage of this ludicrously generous taxpayer-funded subsidy, we should be demanding explanations from those that signed off on this agreement.”

The probe will look into the retractable seating that gets football fans closer to the pitch. It is understood the seats are not as “retractable” as the Greater London Authority — the Stratford venue’s owner — was led to believe, and takes 15 days to remove or replace.

This undermines plans for concerts and other events. Depeche Mode are set to play on June 3.

The GLA says the “final comparable cost” for converting the stadium is now £309 million with a further £14 million set aside for “essential enhancements”. That produces a conversion bill of £323 million and final cost for the stadium of £752 million.

Allies of Mr Johnson accused Mr Khan of “whingeing”. One said: “Sadiq Khan has done nothing for the Olympic Park.

"He has done nothing for any regeneration sites. He criticises spending on the Olympic Stadium when his own deputy mayor Jules Pipe was on the London Legacy Development Corporation and approved the whole package.

“He needs to stop whingeing and come up with ideas of his own. The Olympic Park is the greatest regeneration site in Europe.” The site is being transformed into the “Olympicopolis” arts quarter, featuring the V&A, university campuses and Sadler’s Wells.

A former official involved in the stadium talks warned that “talking down the stadium will destroy any chance of a naming rights deal”, potentially costing the GLA some £5 million a year.

West Ham declined to comment.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT