• Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara

The London Taxpayers' Stadium Shambles

Re: West Ham

SteveAWOL said:
No financial details have been disclosed but it is believed that the club will raise less than the £71.2 million that the 35,016 all-seater stadium is valued at in its accounts.
Click to expand...

So Gareth Bale is worth more than their entire stadium. ha
 
aerial-shot_1.jpg


Phwoar... one must admit that West Ham's new home for 2016/17 onwards looks pretty darn swish. It should be, of course – after all, the Olympic Stadium was the centrepiece for a hugely successful London 2012 – but the Hammers' plans to make it their own certainly look the part.

Not only will it have an extra 19,000 seats on Upton Park and a digital wrap (see the next slide for more), the east Londoners will soon be able to boast "one of the best-connected stadiums in Europe" (it says here). Which is lovely.

Talk of Tottenham part-occupying it for 2017/18, however, has already been quashed by vice-chairman Karren Brady, speaking to reporters on Tuesday. "In reality another team probably could play here but only with our permission. No one's asked yet, and if they did we'd probably say no. If you get my drift." Basically, Daniel Levy need not bother picking up the phone.

external-shot_1.jpg


The Olympic Stadium's coversion is costing an estimated £135 million according to the BBC, though West Ham are only contributing £15m of that and paying another £2m rent per year on top.

The rest is coming from the Government, Newham Council (a loan) and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). Catchy, right?

Money aside, Brady & Co. have set out their ambitious plan – and intend to fulfil every element of it. Following the move, West Ham will be expected to become a top-six Premier League club, all while paying off their debts and becoming self-sufficient.

The wrap above has not yet received final approval, but the club are confident it can help "consolidate its (the stadium's) status as a global icon and one of the best sports venues in the world". Don't expect Mo Farah-esque laps of honour from Big Sam every other week, mind.

matchday-shot_1.jpg


"The most important thing we've done is price it to sell out," said Brady. "Do we think we can fill the stadium? Absolutely."

Music to the ears of fans, if their version of reality aligns to that of their club's. To land their season tickets they'll have to book an appointment at the club's futuristic new Reservation Centre in Stratford – more akin to a travel agent than a ticket office. "Welcome to the future!" FFT was told on arrival.

west-stand_1.jpg


The new West Stand, as shown on a Tuesday night in the League Cup

West Ham are working carefully to make sure the Olympic Stadium looks very much like theirs – but they're also "working round the clock" with the E20 board who want to celebrate the stadium's legacy (buzz word, folks) of success. "A number of solutions regarding seat design and colour are being pursued... our supporters will be in no doubt that they are in the home of West Ham United."

It seems they're going big on the heritage stuff too: a pre-presentation video kindly reminded us that the Hammers basically won the World Cup in 1966, don't you know (with three players in the starting XI).

Whatever the case, one of West Ham's key objectives is to "create a new benchmark... and deliver one of the greatest stadiums in world football."

hospitality_1.jpg


West Ham's big launch on Tuesday was centred around Club London, the city's "newest and most luxurious members' club".

The corporate seats have gone on sale before anything else, with four options: The BM6 ("invitation-only private club"), executive boxes (16 in total, of which a third have already been sold), Arnold Hills (more relaxed dining club named in honour of the club's founder) and the Royal East (a "chic and elegant lounge" which accommodated the Queen at the Olympics).

Brady claims the new VIP areas will offer "the finest hospitality available in the world of any sport". Prices are yet to be announced (so don't wince just yet), though the Hammers' vice-chairman insists the club have "thought carefully about pricing" to help subsidise other tickets around the ground.

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/its-west-hams-home-future
 
Posting about her/it doesn't help but it does make me feel a bit sick to read Brady's name, had managed to forget about her.
 
Jordinho said:
Money aside, Brady & Co. have set out their ambitious plan – and intend to fulfil every element of it. Following the move, West Ham will be expected to become a top-six Premier League club, all while paying off their debts and becoming self-sufficient.
Click to expand...

They spelt Championship wrong
 
HahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahhaHahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahha

1798120_10154724939755475_3707790284276697803_n.jpg
 
i assumed they had finally caved in and said yes to a possible ground share with us when i saw the headline
 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...nish-west-ham-stadium-conversion-9805969.html

Taxpayers could have to find tens of millions more to fund the conversion of the Olympic Stadium into West Ham United’s home as building firm Balfour Beatty presses for more cash

Balfour Beatty — hit by a string of calamitous profit warnings and without a chief executive — won the deal to convert the stadium with a bid of £154 million.

But according to the industry website Construction Enquirer, Balfour has been pushing for around £200 million to complete the deal due to the technical complexity of the contract in a series of meetings with the client.

Sources told the Enquirer that builder Balfour Beatty is pushing for up to £50 million more to complete the job

The firm, which declined to comment, has drafted in KPMG to carry out a forensic review of its troubled UK construction arm after reporting an extra £75 million in write-downs on troubled construction projects

A spokesman for E20 Stadium — a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation and London Newham Council set up to manage the venue — refused to comment on the talks but added: “The project still has close to two years to run and we are in no doubt Balfour Beatty can deliver the programme as planned. This is a complex project and there are always ongoing discussions about specific elements within it.”

Problems were found with the steel work on the stadium roof last month. The stadium will host five matches during the Rugby World Cup next year and will be the permanent home of West Ham from 2016.

Balfour Beatty has just appointed the former Qinetiq boss, Leo Quinn, as its new chief executive after sacking his predecessor, Andrew McNaughton, in May.

A proposed merger with smaller rival Carillion also fell apart in the summer amid a row over the fate of Balfour’s highly profitable US business Parsons Brinckerhoff, which Balfour planned to sell but Carillion wanted to keep
 
Doesn't look as far away from the pitch as I would have imagined. Be interesting to see if they do progress as a result of the move, hopefully not of course. But their fanbase is not large enough to fill that stadium every week unless they have a serious up turn in form, even if they sell tickets on the cheap. Hell, even Arsenal do not fill their ground every week and they have the biggest fanbase in London.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back