The relationship between fans and board at West Ham has been frosty at best in recent years, and developments this summer threatened to tip things over the edge.
Many supporters feel they have been let down since the move to the London Stadium, which the owners said would allow them become more competitive on the pitch while remaining affordable to the fans.
But while the Hammers still have relatively low season ticket fees by London Premier League club standards, prices have started to creep up in recent years.
Add on top of that West Ham’s controversial new concessions ticketing policy that many feel is pricing junior and senior supporters out of supporting their team and it is easy to see why a malaise has set in.
The club have since been forced into a partial climbdown on the concessions policy, but that is unlikely to heal wounds that have already been cut among bedrock supporters.
West Ham pay a peppercorn rent at the London Stadium, around £4m per year based on the publicly-funded LLDC landlord company’s recent accounts.
The lease agreement means West Ham get ticketing revenue but are not entitled to proceeds from catering, while the landlords are also entitled to the bulk of sponsorship income.
To explore the latest developments in terms of matchday income and West Ham’s commercial picture, Soccer4U spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire.
Could West Ham ever purchase the London Stadium?
Reports emerged last year that, despite paying a pittance for the lease, an agreement to buy the London Stadium outright was not being discounted by the.
West Ham and LLDC’s failure to strike a lucrative naming rights deal with German financial service firm Allianz might explain this, with club-landlord relations making such an agreement difficult.
Now, a change in structure at LLDC, who have past ownership of the stadium on to the Greater London Authority, could in theory allow West Ham to strike a long lease at their home ground.
That would give them autonomy over the structure of the stadium and its sponsorship, allowing them to potentially expand and squeeze more cash out of the venue.
But Maguire does not believe this will appeal to David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky, Karren Brady and Vaness Gold.
“West Ham got the deal of the century when they became tenants at the London Stadium.
“The value of the stadium in the accounts of LLDC has gone to zero. So much has tipped in the way of the tenant as opposed to the landlord.
“It is on a 250-year deal. The club could attempt to renegotiate that contract so they get a greater cut of non-ticket matchday income, such as from catering and so on.
“But it would have to be another spectacularly beneficial contract for the club to give up the rights and privileges they have with the existing deal.
“I would be surprised should both parties be able to come up with a deal that benefits both of them in this regard.“
West Ham have treated fans ‘shoddily’
The recent revisions to the concessions policy may temporarily placate some supporters, but others have pointed out that prices are still up across the board and that the revisions are not a fix-all.
“We have to tread very carefully with regards to the understandable anger displayed by West Ham fans,” said Maguire on the subject.
“The club has treated its senior fans and concessions very shoddily.
“They have been given the option of either maintaining a discount but being sent up to tiers five and six, which are very high up.
“It seems a very harsh way to treat fans who have followed West Ham throughout their lives.
“After the move away from Upton Park, they were promised that things would be better after the move to the London Stadium.
“If they are being treated this way, that would clearly be a betrayal in the faith in the ownership of the club.“
