Kieran Maguire: West Ham United fans ‘taken for a ride’ amid six-figure Tottenham development
Kieran Maguire has claimed West Ham fans are being taken for a ride over the catering prices at the London Stadium, despite the clause in their contract with the landlords.
The football finance expert shared the news coming out of the London Stadium that there appears to be a breach of the contract which states West Ham fans will not pay more than comparable clubs in London for food and drinks.
Maguire compared to Tottenham, who make £800,000 per game from catering, despite having lower prices than West Ham, as fans are more inclined to eat and drink in the stadium which is not the case with the Hammers.
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast [22 January], Maguire shared: “It would appear that West Ham fans are paying more for a pint of beer and more for a pie than the fans of any other club.
“However, my understanding is that Karren Brady did embed into the contract with the landlords, a comparable price clause such that West Ham fans wouldn’t pay more than the average of four or five other clubs in London.
“We’re talking top-tier clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs, so West Ham fans do appear to be getting taken for a ride here. I’ve said on the show on many occasions that Spurs make £800,000 per match from catering.
“Well, the price of a pint at the Tottenham Stadium is far cheaper than the £6.50 at the London Stadium, and therefore people arrive earlier and they leave later, and that’s increasing the revenue.
“So West Ham fans are being taken to the cleaners. I think this might be moving forward in due course, and hopefully with a positive outcome.”
An agreement could be reached soon
After Brady inserted the clause into the club’s contract with the London Stadium’s landlords, it has now become clear that the terms have not been stuck to, meaning the club could begin legal proceedings, and as Maguire says, that could move forward soon.
Hammers fans will want to see a positive outcome from the case, as it would represent a massive boost to the quality of the matchday experience, where currently plenty of fans are reluctant to drink inside the ground due to the price.
Under the terms of their agreement with the London Legacy Development Corporation, none of the money from the catering, food and drink sales are reinvested into the club, putting fans off even more from drinking at the ground as it isn’t even going back into the club.
The hope is that an agreement will be reached as soon as possible so that Hammers fans can make the most out of what has become a poor matchday experience, and is likely costing the club money as a result.
In other West Ham news, a TNT Sports pundit has reacted to the Ben Johnson transfer news.
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