West Ham United have £15m-a-year advantage as Times story causes widespread anger
West Ham United have a £15million-a-year advantage paying just £3m in rent per year for the London Stadium, according to Kieran Maguire.
The football finance expert reported on 7 August that the Hammers are receiving a PSR advantage from not paying the £18m yearly running costs.
This comes after Martyn Ziegler reported that the London taxpayers are paying up to £20.9m or £500k per game to run the London Stadium.
West Ham pay just £3m a year for rent compared to that figure, leaving them over £15m better off financially than if they owned the stadium.
This has caused anger amongst London residents and rival supporters who believe this agreement isn’t fair.
West Ham London Stadium deal causes outrage
It is little surprise that the reveal of this difference in rent costs has caused frustration among football fans.
Typically football clubs will own their own stadiums and will have to fork out millions to maintain the upkeep to comply with standards.
This will hamper clubs with PSR and FFP which will hamper any progress in the transfer market and therefore on pitch improvements.
Considering West Ham doesn’t have to find the money to deal with stadium maintenance and other home match-related fees, their finances will look better than most.
Although this may frustrate rival fans, it is arguably a smart piece of business by the club to reduce their spending at a time where finances are paramount.
This does come with risks as there is a chance at some point in the future but with a 99-year lease [The Stadium Guide], those problems are a long long way away for the West Ham hierarchy.
In other West Ham news, Fabrizio Romano has given his verdict on the Irons’ chances of signing another long-term transfer target.
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