Deal finally reached for West Ham to move into London’s Olympic Stadium

LONDON – Premier League club West Ham will move into London’s Olympic Stadium, ending the drawn-out negotiations over the future of the 486 million pound ($783 million) venue.

Under the 99-year deal announced Friday, West Ham will make the short move from its 35,000-capacity Upton Park stadium to the revamped Olympic arena in 2016.

The 80,000-seat stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and the track and field competition at the 2012 London Games, will be downsized to 54,000 seats and reconfigured with a new roof and retractable seats.

“We understand the responsibilities that come with calling the nation’s iconic Olympic Stadium, which will be converted into a world-class football stadium, our new home,” West Ham joint chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold said in a statement. “It is an honour we will take on with pride.”

An original deal with West Ham collapsed in 2011 following legal challenges from London clubs Tottenham and Leyton Orient. The latest deal has been signed despite a fresh challenge by Leyton Orient.

As the anchor tenant, West Ham said the team will have primacy of use of the stadium, even though the venue will also stage other sporting events and concerts.

London Mayor Boris Johnson hopes the stadium can be used for 2015 Rugby World Cup matches, a year before West Ham is due to move in for the 2016-17 season. The stadium is also scheduled to host the World Athletics Championships in 2017.

West Ham will pay only 15 million pounds ($22.7 million) of the conversion costs, which are expected to exceed 150 million pounds ($227 million). The club will pay an annual rent of around 2 million pounds ($3 million). It will have to share revenue from any naming rights deal and matchday catering, but will keep the cash from ticket sales.

The move to the stadium is expected to significantly raise the value of the club. If West Ham’s owners sell in the next 10 years, they will have to give a share of the sale to the company in charge of securing a legacy for London’s Olympic venues.

Critics have questioned if West Ham’s benefits after moving into a publicly-funded stadium are fair.

“West Ham are basically getting a stadium costing more than 600 million pounds for just 15 million pounds and a small amount in annual rent,” former sports minister Richard Caborn said.

“I do welcome the fact that the future of the stadium has finally been secured, but we should also realize that the public sector is picking up the tab.”