Government Funding Gives West Ham Olympic Stadium
The government has agreed to put a further £25m towards converting the Olympic Stadium to enable West Ham to become the anchor tenants of the iconic venue.
The additional input means the Treasury’s contribution to the re-development now reaches around £60m. West Ham have also increased their funding of the project to £15m with the move set to go ahead in August 2016.
The re-development plans involve extending the roof and reducing the capacity of the stadium from 80,000 to 60,0000 and implementing a retractable system through which the venue can be converted from a football arean to an athletics stadium within days. Total cost of the construction is estimated to be between £150m and £190m.
Officials from the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), the body responsible for the legacy of the stadium, are hopeful that it will be ready in time to host matches at the Rugby World Cup in 2015.
This week Barry Hearn, speaking at the Nolan Partners Breakfast Club, made clear his intentions to contest the decision to give West Ham tenancy, however the LLDC is confident that the process will not stall their re-development of the stadium. The LLDC and West Ham will now work closely in an attempt to sell the naming rights to the venue.
