Report: West Ham's deal with Olympic Stadium ordered to be made public
A coalition of football supporters has successfully managed to make public the convoluted details of West Ham's move to Olympic Stadium, reports Owen Gibson of the Guardian.
The information commissioner's office granted a request from last September to provide the full rental agreement between West Ham and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), which operates the former host site of the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Fourteen different supporters' trusts were concerned about the overall cost of converting the stadium into a viable venue for Premier League football - and who would cover it.
West Ham is only paying £15 million of the total £272-million bill, with a large part of the funding from taxpayers. The club would also retain profits from gate revenue.
A spokesperson for the coalition said:
This campaign is publicly backed by 25,000 individuals, football supporters' trusts from around the country, and the public interest in the issue is there for all to see. We call on the mayor not to use the appeal system to delay publication of this document further. If he does it will open him up to the suspicion that he has something to hide.
The LLDC now has a little longer than a month to produce the contract, which it has not yet disclosed for fear of damaging possible commercial partnerships.
The BBC reported in August that a large number of "facilities and services" would be paid by the taxpayer and not by the club.
That is unlike the situation at Manchester City, which pays all overhead costs on top of a rent of £4 million a year to play in another publicly funded arena, Etihad Stadium. It was used during the 2002 Commonwealth Games and later converted for the sole purpose of hosting football matches.
West Ham, meanwhile, would get to play in its new home "at a peppercorn rent at most or, to be honest, for no rent whatsoever," Chris Bryant, the shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, told the BBC.
It would also host any other summer sports, with the running track still in place.
West Ham responded in a statement: "Without us the stadium would lose money. The suggestion we are getting the stadium rent free is wrong - we are more than paying our way."