What London Stadium development 'opportunities' mean for West Ham after new appointment

West Ham United do not own London Stadium, meaning they do not control decisions over the surrounding area.

The 62,500 seater stadium is often a point of contention among fans, with concerns that poor atmosphere is a result of the ground.

Moving to the ground was meant to provide the Hammers with better opportunities to build a strong squad, and compete at the top of English football.

But, that is currently not the case, with the Irons playing their football in the Championship, with Jarrod Bowen and co. hoping to change that.

However, London Stadium has been a consistent loss-maker, with the board of the ground looking for ways to change that.

Now, plans have been put into action over developments around the ground, and here is what is being explored.

Will London Stadium itself see developments?

West Ham's home ground will not see redevelopments in the latest decision to assess the wider area.

As relayed by the Standard, a spokesperson for LLP has revealed that design firm Populous has been appointed to "explore potential development and leisure opportunities."

But, those will instead be based on the area around the ground, rather than the stadium itself.

The plans are particularly relevant to West Ham, despite simply being tenants of London Stadium, rather than owners.

Decisions made of redeveloping the surrounding areas, and significant changes made may impact the matchday experience for supporters.

Whether those changes will be positive or negative remains to be seen, but it is something that West Ham will be keeping an eye on for one particular reason.

Why development plans actually suit West Ham

West Ham fans have a gripe with their home ground due to the inability to control decisions to improve it for football.

With the Hammers not owning London Stadium and therefore having limited control over what happens around the venue, that is often an area of frustration.

West Ham have been offered the chance to buy the ground, but currently do not want to take on the loss that comes with it.

Hammers News have shared that West Ham would be more open to the idea if the wider land was included, and the development of the area makes it a more attractive proposal.

Ultimately, while complete ownership seems far away, this may actually move the prospect closer.