West Ham fans will be closer to the pitch than first feared if, as is expected, the east London club are confirmed as the anchor tenants for the Olympic Stadium.
London Mayor Boris Johnson’s priority when he returns from India this week is to chair the London Legacy Development Corporation board’s meeting next Wednesday, which is likely to decide that West Ham will move to their new Stratford base, probably at the start of the 2016-17 season.
West Ham supporters’ big concern about moving from their compact Upton Park ground to Stratford was that they would be too far away from the action.
Johnson’s plan, though, would see fully retractable seats, similar to those at the Stade de France in Paris, installed over the running track at the stadium which would bring the fans closer to the pitch. A final decision, expected to be announced early in the new year, involves spending an extra £160million to convert the stadium (above), taking the overall cost to £650m.
West Ham have offered £15m towards the conversion costs, the LLDC are prepared to put in £40m while Newham Council would contribute £60m.
West Ham would also pay an annual rent of £2.5m plus a share of catering and commercial income, estimated at £6.5m per year.
There is also pressure on the government to allocate some of the original Olympic under-spend on construction costs.
Refurbishment would also include a new roof, which would necessitate the installation of new floodlights.
