West Ham and the Olympic Stadium legacy
West Ham have won the bid for the right to play in the
newly-built Olympic stadium, but at what cost?
If reports published in the Daily Mail recently are to be
believed, than the stadium (and its later refurbishment) cost close to £630m of
public money with West ham paying only £15m up front and £2m a year thereafter
in all.
The Hammers have certainly spent time making themselves feel
at home, bringing the stand names along from Upton Park, no doubt in an attempt
to placate the murmurs of some of the fans who didn’t want to leave their
iconic ground.
If the stadium did cost that much to build and convert, the
Olympic Legacy Committee (OLC) may be hard pressed to validate spending so
large an amount, no matter how many people use the facilities.
West Ham do at least have a chance of filling the stadium to
a degree. It won’t go unused which would be devastating for the OLC, but it may
not be filled completely.
The Boleyn Ground, or Upton Park as it’s more commonly known,
has been used since 1904 and has a capacity of 35,016, compared to the 80,000
limit of the Olympic stadium, which is second only to Wembley in England.
West Ham are tenth in the attendance table for this season,
but their average stands at 34.7 thousand which is just under their optimum
capacity. The Hammers will need to pack the rafters at their new home in order
to justify a move that has cost an astronomical amount.
As the goodwill of the Olympic summer fades into memory,
perhaps West Ham should be accepted as the best bid for the stadium. Despite
issues with the club swallowing Leyton Orient’s local support in the area, the
move has been reasonably smooth, with the courts having nothing left to settle.
West ham have an opportunity to provide sporting excellence
for the local public to view at a world class venue, as well as other Olympic
events hosted at different times. With the shadow education secretary Steven
Twigg saying the Olympic legacy is “in tatters” it is good to see the stadium
being used properly, despite the massive cost.
The legacy of the stadium is yet to seen, but at the moment
it does seem to be heading in the right direction.
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