West Ham United could face a battle to play any delayed Premier League matches at London Stadium after UK Athletics said it has not held discussions over how the venue will be used during the summer.
With the Premier League suspended until at least the end of April, it is likely that matches would need to be held over the summer if the 2019-20 season is to be completed.
West Ham plays its home matches at London Stadium and last week insisted that its fixtures would take priority over other events held at the venue due to a clause in its contract with landlord E20.
A two-day Major League Baseball series is due to take place at London Stadium on June 13-14, before Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer perform at the venue on June 26 as part of their joint Hella Mega Tour. The Anniversary Games athletics event is also due to be held at London Stadium on the weekend of July 4-5.
West Ham said in a statement last week that its agreement with E20 includes a clause known as the Overriding Priority Principle, which gives all of the club’s competitive matches precedence over any other activity, event or use of the stadium.
UK Athletics, however, says its events would take priority over West Ham matches. In a statement to The Times, UK Athletics chairman Nic Howard said: “As far as we’re concerned athletics has priority and nobody has spoken to us about changes in the summer, including any plans for West Ham games.”
West Ham is currently 16th in the Premier League table as it remains unclear when the league will resume following the coronavirus outbreak.
Image: London Stadium
Share this