Sadiq Khan's London Stadium finances report set for December publication

Published on: 02 November 2017

London Stadium's financial report will be delivered to the mayor this month.

The long-awaited report into the finances of London Stadium will be delivered to London Mayor Sadiq Khan by the end of this month and published in December, his office has confirmed.

Khan announced the review into West Ham's Stratford home last November and accountancy firm Moore Stephens was meant to submit it this summer, only to miss the deadline by nearly six months.

The report was one of several stadium-related issues raised by London Assembly members during a two-hour session on Thursday with the outgoing chief executive and current chairman of the stadium's majority owners, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC).

Khan's demand for answers followed confirmation the stadium's cost to taxpayers has reached £752 million, with the price for converting the stadium from athletics to football rising £51m in 2016 alone.

Thursday's meeting was a last chance for assembly members to quiz David Goldstein before he leaves his chief executive position to take a job at the Ministry of Defence and a first opportunity to question new chairman Sir Peter Hendy. A new chief executive is expected to be announced in December.

Among the issues raised were how much it costs to transform the venue from a football ground to an athletics track and back again every summer, as occurred this year when the stadium hosted the World Athletics Championships.

It is understood this cost venue owner E20 Stadium LLP, which is 65 percent-owned by the LLDC and 35 percent-owned by Newham Council, £8m, a huge increase on the original estimate of £300,000.

Reports of this hike reopened the debate about West Ham's tenancy deal, which at just £2.5m a year has often been described as the "deal of the century."

Goldstein refused to confirm whether the £8m figure is correct but said LLDC has been looking at ways to at least halve that cost, including leaving the East Stand's lower tier in place every summer, when UK Athletics is allowed to use the venue for its events.

Asked about a recent media report that E20 could be put into administration, Goldstein said he could not comment until after the Moore Stephens report is published.

This was also the answer given to questions about the stadium's troubled attempts to attract a sponsor, reduce running costs and stage other sporting events, including a Major League Baseball game.

An E20 spokesperson later told Press Association Sport it was still "in talks with a number of different promoters about a variety of exciting projects" but could not comment on them yet.

One issue the spokesperson could discuss was West Ham's offer to pay for a new surround, or carpet, to cover the track.

This covering is currently green, to match the grass, but West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has said it is confusing his players and the club has offered to spend £200,000 on a new one, providing it is claret or sky blue.

The spokesperson confirmed E20 and the club had been "working on the installation of a blue pitch surround" that would help the players but it had to be dark blue, to match the stadium's branding.

West Ham, of course, pointed out dark blue is associated with London rivals Tottenham, as well as West Brom.

The spokesperson said West Ham had recently informed E20 "they no longer wish to pursue this solution" but the venue-owners "remain happy" to explore other options and "look forward to hearing more from the club."

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Source: espn.co.uk

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