West Ham’s fractious relationship with the London Stadium owners will once again be highlighted next Monday when both parties are due to appear in court to decide a dispute over capacity on match days.
The Hammers want to increase the match-day capacity initially by 3,000 seats to 60,000 and then ultimately to 66,000.
The owners, the London Legacy Development Corporation, contend that, should they consent to the increase, they should receive a proportion of the increased profits.
Last December, Gerry Murphy, then acting chief executive of the LLDC, told a London Assembly budget monitoring sub-committee meeting: “There is a dispute about what the contract says in terms of capacity.
“We feel that if West Ham want more seats, they should commensurately pay more. It is subject to legal proceedings.”
Asked who would benefit from the money generated, Murphy said: “West Ham’s argument is they would receive all of the extra revenue. We would contend we should get a share of that.”
West Ham, the lead tenants of the former Olympic Stadium on a 99-year lease, originally agreed to pay an annual rent of £2.5million per year which has since risen to £3m.
