Rob2012 Posted December 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2017 Quote Sadiq Khan has announced a deal to take control of the London Stadium in a bid to get a grip on its losses. The move was announced as the London Mayor published an independent report into the transformation of the former Olympic stadium into a football ground. It found that opting for the taxpayer to foot the bill for the change instead of current tenants West Ham United led to an "expensive" and "onerous" deal, with the transformation costing £133m more than estimated. The stadium, which is also now used for concerts and athletics, is projected to lose £24m in 2017/18. When asked by Sky News whether the loss-making stadium could be closed, sold or retendered, Mr Khan told Sky News he was "exploring all avenues". In separate comments, he described the report's findings as "simply staggering". "Not for the first time, it reveals a bungled decision-making process that has the previous Mayor's fingerprints all over it," he claimed. "Boris Johnson clearly panicked when faced with legal challenges about West Ham and Newham's joint bid to take ownership of the Stadium and then decided to re-run the bid process with the taxpayer taking all the risks and footing almost the whole bill. You simply couldn't make it up. "The fact he also failed to properly examine the transformation costs or the entirely inadequate estimates for moving the retractable seats leaves us squarely in the dire financial situation we are in." The stadium's post-Olympic legacy has been controversial from the outset, with West Ham involved in a bidding war with London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to become the anchor tenants, and UK Athletics guaranteed a six-week window every summer. West Ham won and agreed a deal under which they pay just £2.5m a year in rent. https://news.sky.com/story/sadiq-khan-announces-deal-to-take-control-of-london-stadium-11151128 For the masochists out there, HERE is the full report that lead to this decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMarkSnow2012 Posted December 1, 2017 Report Share Posted December 1, 2017 7 hours ago, Rob. said: For the masochists out there, HERE is the full report that lead to this decision I laughed out loud at Table 48. I think perhaps I may be a bad person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted December 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 A few pics from the Olympic Park's twitter: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted December 11, 2017 Report Share Posted December 11, 2017 London's 4th Olympics - this time in Winter *well, it is the home of Olympic figure skating... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted December 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2017 Email just received: As 2017 draws to an end, we wanted to thank you again for being a part of an incredible summer of world athletics and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMarkSnow2012 Posted December 25, 2017 Report Share Posted December 25, 2017 On 23/12/2017 at 5:09 PM, Rob. said: Email just received: As 2017 draws to an end, we wanted to thank you again for being a part of an incredible summer of world athletics and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Athletics mode in Winter? West Ham will be upset (unless it's an attempt to distract from their losing streak)! Meanwhile, Merry Christmas (and yes there have been the traditional updates to By Strange Conveyance, though this year they're just random bits and bobs I happened to notice over the past few months; also a couple more videos added to the fireworks map). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMarkSnow2012 Posted March 4, 2018 Report Share Posted March 4, 2018 Probably everybody else spotted this years ago, but ... In the 2012 Opening Ceremony, the Olympic Bell rang once at the beginning, once during the Akram Khan dance segment, once just before the kids lit the cauldron, once just after they'd lit the cauldron and the sequence of igniting petals was going round the full circle five times, then once more after Macca sang "The End". Total: five (bell) rings ... Aaaaaargh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 (edited) In contrast to the amazing atmosphere the athletics provided last Summer....a longish read but quite astonishing what's going on at West Ham these days... Quote Why are West Ham’s board holding meetings with self-professed hooligans? Hooligans from the notorious Inter City Firm have sat down with vice-chairman Karren Brady in recent weeks, and have since threatened other fans planning on marching against the board More @ http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/west-ham-united-board-protest-march-meetings-hooligans-icf-action-group-a8244951.html Edited March 8, 2018 by Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 Civil war in the club is what's going on at West Ham - same as an alarming number of other clubs. Although I must admit, a club board effectively hiring a hit squad is a new one on me I don't know enough to know the specific causes there, but it does seem from outside that leaving Upton Park for the OS was a big mistake for the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMarkSnow2012 Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 6 hours ago, yoshi said: it does seem from outside that leaving Upton Park for the OS was a big mistake for the club. In some respects yes- but if their average attendance figures for the current season (just under 57,000 per Premier League match) are anywhere near accurate, that's over 20,000 more than the maximum capacity at Upton Park- and the site was so small, expansion there was effectively impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 They had plans to take it to over 40k which were obviously never realised. I think West Ham are a club who report tickets sold rather than actual attendance. You can see empty seats in areas where seats are sold in quite a lot of their games. At a guess I'd say they're getting around 47-56k per game depending on the match. It's telling how much they've had to subsidise some tickets as well when you read this from their accounts (released this week)...I couldn't believe this when I saw it... The move to the new London Stadium only increased #WHUFC match receipts by £1.7m (6%) from £26.9m to £28.6m This move was meant to get them competing with the top clubs but the club is at war with itself and is barely making any more revenue from the stadium, and from what I've seen a lot of fans are pining for the old ground. I also wonder, given the huge increases in broadcast revenue, whether West Ham might've looked at building something new with a c50k capacity had the OS opportunity not landed in their laps. All hypothetical now of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 I still think that sometime after Birmingham 2022 (once UK Athletics move out) West Ham will buy the stadium & demolish its interior, Luzhniki style. Either that or they'll eventually crack, build a Southampton-style stadium somewhere else & leave us to deal with the OS. I don't know why it's got so bad there though, it can't just be the stadium saga surely - even as unpopular as it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2018 (edited) -- Edited March 10, 2018 by Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 Bobby Moore mosaic before today's match vs Burnley https://twitter.com/BBCLondonSport/status/972487313472270338 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 (edited) ^^ Well, one and half hours later it's all kicking off. Pitch invasions, fans trying to get to the directors who've been escorted by police from the stadium, Burnley players have allowed children to sit on the bench to escape chaos in the stands https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/03/10/west-ham-match-descends-chaos-fans-confront-players-co-owners/ Edited March 10, 2018 by Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2018 (edited) West Ham statement: Quote West Ham United have immediately launched a full and thorough investigation into the incidents which marred the second half of today's match and are committed to taking decisive and appropriate action. An emergency meeting has been called with all London Stadium stakeholders. There will be no further comment at this time. https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2018/march/10-march/west-ham-united-statement#r6b70b1sv8jO7Rwb.99 Edited March 10, 2018 by Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted March 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 (edited) Quote The full extent of the toxic relationship between West Ham United and their London Stadium landlords can be laid bare today with The Daily Telegraph able to reveal that the two sides are locked in a £100 million-plus legal row that will see them face off at the High Court in November. West Ham and the publicly-funded London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) spent Monday in talks over how to prevent a repeat of Saturday's violent protests during Saturday’s game with Burnley, but the two sides are also in a bitter dispute over the capacity for football matches at the former Olympic Stadium. When West Ham moved in to the stadium last season under the "deal of the century", they believed it would entitle them to a capacity of 60,000, but LLDC said the figure was just 53,500. A compromise was reached that guaranteed West Ham an additional 3,500 seats. However, West Ham want permission to fill all of the stadium's 66,000 seats, which could be worth millions of pounds each year to them in increased ticket revenue. With LLDC demanding payment for anything above 57,000, the club has brought the lawsuit against the authority. ... The additional seats could provide West Ham with significantly increased ticket revenue and one element of their lawsuit is a loss-of-earnings claim for being prevented from using those seats this season. Over the course of their 99-year lease, that would multiply into hundreds of millions of pounds, something the LLDC argues the taxpayer - the primary funders of the transformation of the stadium into the home of a Premier League football club - is entitled to a share of. One source has told The Telegraph the total amount of money at stake is “well in excess of £100 million”, with another revealing legal costs for both sides has already hit £2m and could end up being triple that. More @ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/03/12/west-ham-100-million-legal-dispute-london-stadium-landlords/ Edited March 13, 2018 by Rob. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMarkSnow2012 Posted March 13, 2018 Report Share Posted March 13, 2018 2 hours ago, Rob. said: When West Ham moved in to the stadium last season under the "deal of the century", they believed it would entitle them to a capacity of 60,000, but LLDC said the figure was just 53,500. A compromise was reached that guaranteed West Ham an additional 3,500 seats. More @ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/03/12/west-ham-100-million-legal-dispute-london-stadium-landlords/ The Agreed Capacity in the Concession Agreement (page 2) was "a minimum of 53,500 seats when the Stadium is provided in Football Mode including a minimum of 3,400 Club Seats ..." ("Club Seats" are those in the VIP / Hospitality / Corporate areas) From that, it would seem that any additional capacity beyond 53,500 should indeed be subject to negotiation over additional rent payments, and any additional seats already provided without additional rent payments should be subject to audit investigation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Besnada Posted April 10, 2018 Report Share Posted April 10, 2018 Hello guys, i'm doing a study on the London 2012 ,specifically on it's social legacy, and I'd like your input on the matter. I have the link here to my study: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeiaRDDyYv9d1sMs2RPjc9n5ek7pdSuQH48eHdNrmZNFB-lAQ/viewform?usp=sf_link If you also have friends or know people that would be interested in sharing their opinion on this regard, please pass along this survey because it will help my research quite alot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMarkSnow2012 Posted April 18, 2018 Report Share Posted April 18, 2018 Good news and bad news. The good news is that from tomorrow I'm taking a break of three months or so from GB. The bad news is that, to celebrate, I've added yet more entries to my map of London 2012 OC firework finale videos: http://www.pastpresented.ukart.com/marksnow/fireworkmap2012.htm And finally, here's another odd video I spotted recently: the whole OC in just over 2 minutes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted April 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2018 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stryker Posted May 3, 2018 Report Share Posted May 3, 2018 Looks like the Olympic Stadium is going to add baseball to its list of events when the Yankees and Red Sox play next year. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23394047/mlb-announce-new-york-yankees-boston-red-sox-games-london Sounds interesting but wouldn't Lord's Cricket Ground or The Oval be a better place for baseball given the shape and dimensions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted May 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2018 CONFIRMED: Quote MLB London Series: New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to play at the London Stadium on June 29 and June 30 2019 Major League Baseball will come to London next year and is here to stay, according to the sport’s commissioner Rob Manfred. Baseball’s biggest rivals - the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox - will meet at the London Stadium on June 29 and June 30 next year in two regular‑season matches. This will be the first time MLB has come to Europe and Manfred, who began detailed talks with Sadiq Khan over the possible games when he became Mayor of London in 2016, is adamant this is just the beginning. “We’re interested in a long-term relationship in London,” he told Standard Sport. “It depends on whether we can make a long go of it.” Two more games are lined up for 2020 at the London Stadium - potentially between different teams. The NFL have been playing regular-season games in London since 2007 and there is a hope a franchise will be based here one day. The O2 Arena has become home to an annual NBA game since 2011. But Manfred said: “London was a target for us regardless of either football or basketball. “We’re really excited about it. We’ve been looking for the right opportunity to come somewhere in Europe. We think that London is the perfect place and we’re excited about bringing over one of the great rivalries.” More @ https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/mlb-london-series-new-york-yankees-and-boston-red-sox-to-play-at-the-london-stadium-on-june-29-and-a3833356.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshi Posted May 8, 2018 Report Share Posted May 8, 2018 Long-term relationship - a franchise eventually? Could this be West Ham's get out of jail card? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob2012 Posted May 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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