Proof that West Ham United’s transformation of the Olympic Stadium into a football arena has been good value for Britain has emerged from Real Madrid.
West Ham United’s Adrian, Dimitri Payet and team mates look dejected
A woeful start to the season and life at their new 60,000 seater home has left morale on the pitch and in the stands at a new low.
Fighting among fans and safety fears at the ground as well as a perceived lack of the famous intimidating Hammers
Five defeats from the first seven Premier League games is the club’s worst ever start to a season and Bilic’s side were also unceremoniously dumped out of Europe in qualifying too.
The club finds itself at the centre of a new negative story each week with the spotlight firmly fixed over East London following the move into such an iconic ground.
West Ham co chairman David Gold at the Olympic Stadium
Fears that the huge stadium would turn into an expensive white elephant once the dust had settled on the London 2012 Olympics were seemingly allayed when the Premier League side were handed the keys to the iconic ground as anchor tenants in 2013.
But legal challenges to have the decision thrown out from the likes of fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur and fellow East Londoners Leyton Orient marred the process and saw the Hammers‘ legitimacy to take over the running of the stadium called into question.
The relatively small amount of money the Hammers had to pay towards conversion costs to make it a suitable as a football stadium has also received negative publicity.
The Olympic Stadium before the transformation which included a roof
The £190 million transformation took to the total cost of the venue to £701 million – out of which the country got an Olympic Games, a Rugby World Cup, a Premier League football ground and retained its athletic and Olympic legacy.
As part of the work West Ham installed an impressive cantilevered roof – which measures some 84 metres at its deepest point – and is the longest of its type in the world, covering every seat in the stadium.
Contrast that to approved plans in Spain at the mighty Real Madrid where they are set to spend an eye-watering £360m just to fit a new roof.
Real president Florentino Perez reaches agreement with city over new £360m roof
The La Liga giants will add a retractable roof to the Santiago Bernabeu after finally reaching an agreement with the city to remodel the stadium, as reported by Sky Sports.
Madrid president Florentino Perez revealed the project would cost £360m – more than half the cost of the Olympic Stadium and its subsequent transformation.
It gives food for thought to critics of West Ham’s move to the stadium, with whom co-owner David Sullivan is growing increasingly fed up, as reported by the club’s official website.
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