London Stadium has announced details of a £10m (€11.4m/$13.2m) guarantee arrangement to ensure suppliers at the multi-use venue are paid in full.
The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has agreed to underwrite planned upgrades, with the Mayor of London also giving his approval to the deal.
According to the BBC, London’s City hall has said the agreement was required to “provide assurance” to suppliers of various services “that they will be paid”.
A Mayor of London spokesperson added: “This technical agreement allows the LLDC to provide assurance to stadium suppliers that they will be paid from the funding already put in place by the Mayor to cover the stadium’s losses.”
The venue, which served as the centrepiece for London’s 2012 summer Olympic Games, is not currently making a profit and questions have been raised over its financial security.
English Premier League football club West Ham United was awarded tenancy of the stadium in 2013, but does not have to pay for certain running costs.
The tenancy agreement states that that services such as policing, stewarding and cleaning, as well as facilities including goalposts and corner flags, are to be paid for by the taxpayer.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has taken over the running the London Stadium after an independent review found the cost of converting the venue from an athletics facility to a football ground cost £323m, compared to an original estimate of £190m.
The review also included projections from E20, a public sector company set up to run the stadium, that the facility would make a loss of £20 this year a total loss of £140m over its first 10 years of operation.
The Mayor of London spokesperson added: “The Mayor has taken over control of the London Stadium to put it on a more secure financial footing.
“He is working to ensure its long-term future as a world-class multi-purpose venue and that it continues providing community benefits.”
Image: Hammersfan
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