Hammers Nail Olympic Deal

Premier League soccer club West Ham United has been confirmed as the future tenant for the new London Olympic Stadium.

London Mayor Boris Johnson and the government confirmed it had ratified the recommendation’s of the Olympic Park Legacy Company March 3.

The Hammers’ bid was made with Live Nation, which will arrange live concerts and other entertainment at the venue, and was supported by the club’s local Newham Council.

At press time it wasn’t clear if Tottenham Hotspur FC, which bid for the stadium in partnership with AEG, would launch a legal appeal against the outcome.

Tottenham chairman David Levy told the Daily Telegraph a month ago that the club may take legal action if it failed to win the bid, apparently on the grounds the decision would have been based on political expediency rather than financial principles.

He was also unhappy that some involved in the decision-making process were being vocal about supporting the West Ham bid.

Levy said the West Ham bid wasn’t financially sustainable and predicted that the stadium could end up with a bankrupt tenant.

“It’s no different to a shopping centre,” he said. “If you don’t get the right anchor tenant to start with, it is destined to fail.”

Live Nation international chief ops officer Paul Latham says he’s anticipating that each year his company will be staging at least two or three concerts in the venue, or even more if the stadium is available.

“We will be working with West Ham and Newham to ensure the diary management of the football and athletics compliments the outdoor concert touring season,” he told Pollstar. “The Olympic Stadium and Park will be most attractive in the marketplace because it will have a big capacity, and a high percentage of it will be standing. It’s important to a lot of bands.

“Also the ancillary space and facilities will aid creativity, minimise production restrictions and help cut costs. From a concertgoers point of view it will also be one of the easiest stadiums to get to by public transport, which also ticks a big box from an ecological standpoint.”