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West Ham reach agreement over London Stadium pitch surround

Getty Images
Getty Images

West Ham have reached an agreement with the London Legacy Development Corporation over the pitch surround at London Stadium, Karren Brady has revealed.

The Hammers have been at loggerheads with LLDC, who control the stadium, over multiple issues for the past two years, though Brady also said their relationship had begun to improve in recent days.

Last season, Slaven Bilic revealed via his Standard Sport column that the club wanted to replace the green surround, which has since been deemed unsafe for purpose, with a claret coloured one.

In a London Assembly meeting on Wednesday, Brady revealed that the surround would be mostly claret, with ‘London Stadium dark blue’ also incorporated alongside a West Ham badge.

Brady described the club’s relationship as ‘complex’, but said the improvement had been down to the appointment of Lyn Garner as chief executive at LLDC.

“It has been a difficult couple of years since we moved into the stadium to be honest,” Brady said at City Hall.

“It is a complex set of stakeholders, it was the sporadic communication [which harmed the relationship].”

Brady also revealed that the club would consider buying the London Stadium should that be an option, but that no discussions had taken place to that effect.

"I think the London Stadium craves direction,” she added. “I think it should be a jewel in the crown of London, it should be hosting events 365 days a year.

"It really should have the commercial expertise it deserves, it should have the financial controls it so readily needs. I don’t think it is anywhere near realising its full potential and that, for me, is incredibly frustrating.

"We could help such a lot in all of those regards but unfortunately our help has not been required or sought.

"That [buying the stadium] is certainly something we would look at. But we would have to be really clear about UK Athletics, the seat moves, the long-term maintenance costs.

"We haven’t discussed it. I think if it was to become a dedicated football stadium, with pop concerts, maybe the occasional rugby match, then that could be a seriously very good proposition. That might be something we are interested in.

"The problem for this stadium is the cost of the seat moves for athletics. That is what drains this proposition of all its revenue."