A week in the life of the Olympic Stadium Pantomime

What a week in the Olympic Stadium Pantomime and it is not even the Christmas season yet!

So first story of the week told the future of the Olympic Stadium retractable seating £200 million rebuild was reported to be thrown into doubt after Old Eton boy George Osbourne in the Treasury ruled out handing any of the £377 million London 2012 surplus over to Old Eton boy Boris Johnson for the project. This would leave a £120 Million hole in the current rebuild budget.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9641726/Mayor-of-London-Boris-Johnsons-appeal-for-Games-surplus-fund-to-be-used-in-Olympic-Stadium-rejected-by-Treasury.html

Hot on the heels of that story was that NFL American Football franchise would gazump West Ham to be anchor tenants of the Olympic Stadium. Bizarre story as the bidding process is closed and I sure a third bidding process would be required to make this legal. 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/west-hams-tenancy-of-the-olympic-stadium-1409807

Although the Daily Mail later claimed West Ham would share the OS with NFL.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-2226156/West-Ham-share-Olympic-Stadium-NFL-Americans.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Now today news has been reported in the Independent that West Ham have bid £8.08M per year for the 99 year lease committing us to £880M over 99 years.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/west-ham-committed-to-olympic-stadium-bid-despite-huge-financial-implications-8274380.html

To me this is the most concerning of all three stories if true. The richest club in the world Man City pay £3 Million per for their 50,000 capacity state owned stadium and make £8 Million per year profit from the naming rights. However if the Independent story is true we as one of the most debt laden clubs will pay £8M per year with no rights to the naming rights, catering rights or rental from other tenants.

Doesn't sound like a good deal to me (if true)

The result of the bidding process is expected on the 5th December.

Here is a link to my previous post on the Olympic Stadium Story So Far

http://westhamfootball.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-story-so-far-with-west-ham-olympic.html