Losses for the London Stadium could hit £150m
GAMBLING, tobacco and alcohol companies have been ruled out of London Stadium naming rights talks — putting a dent in hopes of reducing its £25million-a-year losses.
Sources close to stadium landlord London Legacy Development Corporation say interest from such companies have been ruled out as ‘inappropriate’ for the image of the stadium and its legacy.
It rules out the possibility of West Ham’s shirt sponsor Betfair becoming the stadium’s first sponsor.
Betfair signed a six-year shirt sponsorship deal with the Hammers in the summer worth £10m a year.
The decision by LLDC follows the lead of the FA, who terminated their £4m-a-year contract with Ladbrokes amid controversy over the amount of gambling advertising in the game. LLDC have lost an estimated £3m a year due to the absence of a stadium sponsor.
They have asked West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady to help secure a naming rights partner for the 2020-21 season after two failed attempts, at a cost of £450,000 to the taxpayer.
Telecoms company Vodafone pulled out of a £20m six-year naming rights deal in May 2017, while Indian conglomerate Mahindra had earlier shown an interest only to pull out. The London Stadium lost £25.5m in the year to March 31 2019 and LLDC expect these losses to increase to £29.1m next year. Losses have increased every year since 2016, raising question marks over its sustainability as it continues to be subsidised by the taxpayer.
Official projections show the stadium is on course to have lost a combined £150m in operational costs by 2023.
Stadium losses have been inflated due to the extraordinary cost of moving the retractable seating.
The cost of converting the London Stadium from football ground to multi-use venue and back again rose to £6m this year.
It includes a £1.9m cost for the New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox baseball series.