jevs
Well-known member
Hopefully here's a few answers to your questions
HOW WILL THE STADIUM WORK FOR WEST HAM FANS? BY SIMON CASS
Will the athletics track have to go?
Not if the next generation of Mo Farahs and company are going to have something to run on in five years’ time. The stadium will host the 2017 World Athletics Championships after Lord Coe’s persuasive powers proved instrumental in bringing yet another major sporting event to London following the best Olympic Games in history.
How will the seating work in such a large venue?
Here’s where the money starts mounting up. A key part of West Ham’s bid is to retain the running track but they do not want fans match-day experience to suffer. The plan is to install retractable seating to slide over the running track to ensure Hammers’ fans continue to get a close up view of their club’s renaissance.
Will the venue get a roof?
Mercifully the weather held out for those magical nights in August but the stadium was originally conceived as a summer venue. Another chunk of cash has been earmarked to extend the venue’s circular roof to protect West Ham fans from the unpredictable elements.
How much is all this going to cost?
Converting the iconic venue to one which fits the bill for the Barclays Premier League, and one which can also cater for athletics and pop concerts, won’t come cheap. Estimates for the work range between £130million up to £200m and it is worth remembering the stadium cost £429m to put up in the first place.
So who is going to cough up?
Well, West Ham are willing to part with £15m towards the conversion plus £9million annually in rent and cash from commercial proceeds. Fellow tenants, Newham Council, are in for between £40m and £60m while the Treasury has reached into its pockets for another £38million. Some shortfall estimates for the work range between £15 and £20m although West Ham argue that the cost of the conversion is covered with the cash already on the table.
This is starting to sound like a cracking deal for West Ham - are they getting a 60,000 stadium for a knockdown price?
There is little doubt that moving home would do wonders financially for a club currently around £80 million in debt and turning over around £80 million a year, provided they can maintain their top flight status. Do so and the match day revenue generated by the move to Stratford will dwarf the £18m they pull in annually at Upton Park. David Gold and David Sullivan shelled out in the region of £50m to buy a 50% controlling stake in West Ham in January 2010 and a Premier League club with an iconic, state of the art home could certainly be an attractive proposition for outside investors. But one of the caveats of West Ham’s lease is expected to be that they share a slice of the profits with taxpayers if Gold and Sullivan eventually decide to cash in.
So off to the New Boleyn Ground we go then?
Romantic though that sounds, there is little prospect that West Ham will not attempt to sell the naming rights to their new ground. Manchester City get an estimated £400m from Etihad to have the airline’s name emblazoned on what was the City of Manchester Stadium, constructed for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. And while West Ham are unlikely to strike a deal of that magnitude, the potential naming rights cash would be too tempting to turn down especially if it covered the £9m-a-year they are paying their landlords.
And what happens to West Ham’s old Green Street home?
Flattened is the overwhelming expectation. A 99-year lease on their new arena means the beige towers built from the proceeds of the £18m sale of Rio Ferdinand to Leeds will slip into memory. Potential buyers are already circling with community houses, flats and a supermarket the likely uses for the site.
When will West Ham move in?
Prior to the last bidding process collapsing in May, the club reckoned they could be out of their present home by the summer of 2014. But as a result of the delays in reaching a decision about the fate of the Olympic Stadium West Ham will need to extend that until at least the start of the2015/16 season. Many feel that timescale errs on the optimistic side as the necessary construction work may take until the summer of 2016 to be finished.
Read more: West Ham handed Olympic Stadium: Club wins three-year battle for arena | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
HOW WILL THE STADIUM WORK FOR WEST HAM FANS? BY SIMON CASS
Will the athletics track have to go?
Not if the next generation of Mo Farahs and company are going to have something to run on in five years’ time. The stadium will host the 2017 World Athletics Championships after Lord Coe’s persuasive powers proved instrumental in bringing yet another major sporting event to London following the best Olympic Games in history.
How will the seating work in such a large venue?
Here’s where the money starts mounting up. A key part of West Ham’s bid is to retain the running track but they do not want fans match-day experience to suffer. The plan is to install retractable seating to slide over the running track to ensure Hammers’ fans continue to get a close up view of their club’s renaissance.
Will the venue get a roof?
Mercifully the weather held out for those magical nights in August but the stadium was originally conceived as a summer venue. Another chunk of cash has been earmarked to extend the venue’s circular roof to protect West Ham fans from the unpredictable elements.
How much is all this going to cost?
Converting the iconic venue to one which fits the bill for the Barclays Premier League, and one which can also cater for athletics and pop concerts, won’t come cheap. Estimates for the work range between £130million up to £200m and it is worth remembering the stadium cost £429m to put up in the first place.
So who is going to cough up?
Well, West Ham are willing to part with £15m towards the conversion plus £9million annually in rent and cash from commercial proceeds. Fellow tenants, Newham Council, are in for between £40m and £60m while the Treasury has reached into its pockets for another £38million. Some shortfall estimates for the work range between £15 and £20m although West Ham argue that the cost of the conversion is covered with the cash already on the table.
This is starting to sound like a cracking deal for West Ham - are they getting a 60,000 stadium for a knockdown price?
There is little doubt that moving home would do wonders financially for a club currently around £80 million in debt and turning over around £80 million a year, provided they can maintain their top flight status. Do so and the match day revenue generated by the move to Stratford will dwarf the £18m they pull in annually at Upton Park. David Gold and David Sullivan shelled out in the region of £50m to buy a 50% controlling stake in West Ham in January 2010 and a Premier League club with an iconic, state of the art home could certainly be an attractive proposition for outside investors. But one of the caveats of West Ham’s lease is expected to be that they share a slice of the profits with taxpayers if Gold and Sullivan eventually decide to cash in.
So off to the New Boleyn Ground we go then?
Romantic though that sounds, there is little prospect that West Ham will not attempt to sell the naming rights to their new ground. Manchester City get an estimated £400m from Etihad to have the airline’s name emblazoned on what was the City of Manchester Stadium, constructed for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. And while West Ham are unlikely to strike a deal of that magnitude, the potential naming rights cash would be too tempting to turn down especially if it covered the £9m-a-year they are paying their landlords.
And what happens to West Ham’s old Green Street home?
Flattened is the overwhelming expectation. A 99-year lease on their new arena means the beige towers built from the proceeds of the £18m sale of Rio Ferdinand to Leeds will slip into memory. Potential buyers are already circling with community houses, flats and a supermarket the likely uses for the site.
When will West Ham move in?
Prior to the last bidding process collapsing in May, the club reckoned they could be out of their present home by the summer of 2014. But as a result of the delays in reaching a decision about the fate of the Olympic Stadium West Ham will need to extend that until at least the start of the2015/16 season. Many feel that timescale errs on the optimistic side as the necessary construction work may take until the summer of 2016 to be finished.
Read more: West Ham handed Olympic Stadium: Club wins three-year battle for arena | Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook