West Ham United are caught in a new legal dispute at the London Stadium after the venue’s owners refused to reinstate an honours board amid claims the club have unpaid bills.
The board, listing the club’s achievements and trophies won, has been displayed in the West Stand since West Ham moved to the stadium in 2016 but it was removed over the summer for athletics events.
The stadium’s owner, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is demanding tens of thousands of pounds in maintenance fees before the board is reinstated. In its place for last weekend’s match against Bournemouth was a London Stadium-branded board that said “This Is For Everyone.”
“We are disappointed that the club’s honours list is currently absent from London Stadium,” a West Ham spokesman told The Times. “The list, which for the last two seasons has been positioned around the middle tier of the West Stand, was removed by landlord E20 while the stadium staged a number of non-football events in the summer, despite the fact that — under the terms of the club’s tenancy agreement — E20 should replace signage at their cost at the start of each season.
“Just days before the club’s first home game on Saturday, E20 demanded money for maintenance of the stadium big screen. That fee is not in our tenancy agreement, nor have we paid it before.”
West Ham recently won a case against the LLDC on four other cases related to the stadium, including bills for the provision of draught beer, televisions and hospitality staff.
An LLDC spokesman said: “We are more than willing to rent advertising space to West Ham for the display of the club’s honours. However, there are some unpaid bills which need to be settled before we will enter into a new deal for the 2018-19 season. The club has a very good deal to use the London Stadium and it is only right and fair that it should pay to use additional assets in the venue.”
Meanwhile, West Ham vice chairman Baroness Brady has given the LLDC 14 days to accept an offer regarding the colour and maintenance of the stadium’s running track. West Ham want the track to be claret and blue, rather than green.
“We offer to pay for its installation and its maintenance, as well as its removal and storage,” Brady said in a letter to the stadium owners.
“All in all, I estimate that this offer is worth more than £380,000 in savings to E20 Stadium LLP. You may accept this offer within 14 days and I hope that you do.”
Following last weekend’s 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth at home, West Ham have lost more games at the London Stadium than they have won.
Be the first to comment