West Ham's proposed move to the Olympic Stadium has been delayed, according to the Telegraph, following news from the LLDC that today's meeting between the committee and representatives from the Hammers will only involve an "update" on the stadium. This will be an irritating hold-up for West Ham co-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan, who were both expecting to hear confirmation today of the Irons' deal to move into the stadium being approved. A deal in principle was understood to have been reached between the club and the LLDC last week but full legal ratification of the deal and the completion of the approval process will take longer than expected. The Guardian also report that today was meant to be the rubber-stamping of the deal; after the Hammers upped their rent offer on the stadium of £2.5 million, as well as £6.5 million of sponsorship and catering income, for the £429 million stadium, but there are still stages in the approval process to get through. Once the deal has been ratified by the LLDC, the offer by Newham Council to part-fund the conversion costs of the stadium, believed to be in the region of £160 million, has to be approved, and a special-purpose body, set up by the LLDC and the council, has to formally confirm any deal. The LLDC hinted yesterday that a deal could be sealed by March, but with this latest delay, it would be foolish to put any time-limit on the completion of the agreement.
By Alex Shilling
No comments:
Post a Comment