Londoners will be hit with a £2.5million bill as West Ham were relegated from the Premier League on Sunday.
The Hammers were in a relegation scrap with Tottenham but while the east London team managed a huge 3-0 win over Leeds, Spurs also triumphed 1-0 over Everton putting them two points ahead of their bottom-of-the-table rivals.
The results mean West Ham joined Wolves and Burnley in the bottom three of the Premier League with 39 points to Spurs’ 41 points and will go down to the Championship next season.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) picks up the bill for operating the London Stadium – and its costs are now set to escalate.
Under the 99-year deal signed by previous Mayor of London Boris Johnson, West Ham pays £4.4m a year in rent, leaving the GLA to pick up the bill for stewarding and other costs associated with the stadium.
The London taxpayer already subsidises the running of the stadium, despite efforts to attract other uses, such as baseball and music concerts.
The rent bill is set to half next season now West Ham will play in the lower league.
Commercial revenues from the former Olympic stadium are also expected to fall, while the GLA incurs higher stewarding costs, as there are 23 home games in the Championship compared with 19 in the Premier League.
The Mayor of London blamed his predecessor for doing “the worst deal imaginable”, which has hit Londoners with the huge bill.
Ahead of the final game of the season, he told the Standard: “The previous Mayor, Boris Johnson, did the worst deal imaginable.
"As far as West Ham are concerned, as a deal of the century where he basically gave them rent free, this amazing stadium for 100 years.
"Now if West Ham are relegated, we, the taxpayers, we City Hall, could lose up to 2.5m a year.
“So what I say to Londoners who don't support Spurs is you should probably be cheering on West Ham, because the taxpayer will lose out if West Ham go down."
