West Ham stadium deal costs taxpayers £19m a year
West Ham stadium deal costs taxpayers £19m a year
Kumail Jaffer - Local Democracy Reporting ServiceSat, July 25, 2026 at 7:07 AM UTC
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West Ham's relegation leaves taxpayers on the hook for more of its rent
The capital's taxpayers are losing £19m every year due to the long-term deal signed with West Ham over the use of the London Stadium, officials have revealed.
The agreement, signed in 2013 by then-mayor Boris Johnson, named West Ham United Football Club (WHUFC) as the former Olympic stadium's long-term tenants.
The deal, which lasts 99 years and has no break clause on City Hall's side, has been criticised by London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan who blamed his predecessor for failing to obtain better terms.
This includes a clause which now sees the club pay less than half the £4.6m annual rent they were responsible for before their Premier League relegation last season.
Lyn Garner, who chairs London Stadium LLP - the body set up to transform and manage the stadium - revealed the extent of the financial loss at a London Assembly meeting earlier this week.
"We are going to finalise the accounts at around a £19m operating loss," she said.
"This is not unusual. It's been in this ballpark for some time."
The 2025-26 financial year was a "particularly bad year for London Stadium, with only two summer concerts" held, she added.
Non-football events, like concerts and athletics tournaments, contribute to funding the stadium's operations.
Lyn Garner says London LLC has had a "tense" relationship with West Ham
Garner said this year has been a "bit better" with five concerts and Soccer Aid being held at the stadium this summer.
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"That's helping with the finances," she said. "But, of course, it's one step forward and two steps back because of the relegation reduction."
She told the committee that despite efficiencies and commercial deals, "we're still in the same ballpark of about £19m".
'Tense relationship'
Garner said she would "absolutely not" sign the current deal in place if it was presented to the organisation now, and said some vague aspects of the agreement have led to legal disputes over the contract.
"The relationship with the football club historically has been quite tense," she told assembly members.
"We've disagreed on interpretations around the contractual piece. And I don't think that's any surprise when the taxpayer is under such a huge pressure.
"It's a very good contract for West Ham United. Well done, is what I say, in terms of the original negotiation – but it causes pressures and tensions.
"It doesn't matter whether it's fair or not. A commercial deal was done, and we're in a contract, and we must honour it."
"I'd like to see the whole thing set aside and to start again, but I can't see that happening," she added.
Garner outlined five measures to help mitigate the annual losses:
Moving WHUFC Women to the London Stadium at the club's expense, although Garner said "there's a dispute about how it interacts with the contract and the cost of it"
Seeking permission to hold more major non-football events - at the moment Newham Council currently caps the venue at 10 non-football events annually, compared to 50 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Making the interior feel less "sterile" by turning the seats claret, which Garner said would feel "more intimate, more West Ham"
Exploiting surrounding land for food, beverage, and leisure developments
Preparing to market stadium naming rights once the club returns to the Premier League to avoid settling for an under-priced 10-year deal while in the Championship.
The committee had invited Karim Virani, the new interim chief executive officer (CEO) of WHUFC, and former mayor Boris Johnson, in front of the committee, but neither was able to make it.
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Source: “AOL Money”
