West Ham United’s relegation to the second tier of English football is costing taxpayers around £1.8m, while naming rights could be worth up to £4m, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter

Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan must urgently take action to ensure naming rights for the London Stadium are finally sold, an assembly member has said.

The sporting arena, which is primarily occupied by West Ham United Football Club (WHUFC) as the long-term tenants, is currently costing the Greater London Authority (GLA) around £19million per year to operate.

However, City Hall has been unable to secure a naming rights deal for the stadium, despite the idea first being floated in 2012. It has previously been estimated that naming rights could secure up to £4m a year.

Bassam Mahfouz, who chairs the London Assembly’s economy, culture and skills committee, has now asked Khan to bring together partners in order to “seriously reduce” the annual debt incurred by the capital’s taxpayers.

In a letter to the mayor, he wrote: “Given that 13 years have already passed since the signing of this agreement, little headway has been made in reducing the annual subsidy of almost £20m and while there is a change in ownership at the club, we need to ensure this marks new impetus on all sides to seriously reduce this public subsidy.

“We believe that as mayor you have could influence these decisions in a positive way.

“Where there are major commercial opportunities to generate income for the stadium, you could help bring partners together, in order to help all partners reach agreement.”

In the past, his committee heard, WHUFC have often scuppered potential deals by increasing the demands whenever the London Stadium LLP, the body that manages the arena, has managed to reach an agreement.

However, Karim Virani, who was appointed as the club’s interim CEO in April, wrote to Mahfouz to express his desire in reaching a “win win” outcome for the GLA and WHUFC.

“Both the stadium and West Ham are missing out on revenue that could be generated from naming rights,” he said in a written submission to the committee in July.

“I have initiated constructive dialogue on that and other key topics since I joined the club two months ago and I hope that positive trajectory can continue.”

In a recent budget submission, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), which transferred ownership of the stadium to the GLA in 2025, said there was a “significant risk” that naming rights would not be secured until at least 2028.

David Bellamy, the mayor’s chief of staff, has previously told the budget and performance committee: “The naming rights market does remain challenging. We are not the only major stadium in London that hasn’t secured a naming rights partner yet.

“Any deal has to work for the sponsor, the stadium and West Ham. We continue to be open to approaches and pro-actively looking at opportunities.”

West Ham’s relegation to the second tier of English football will cost the GLA around £1.8m extra next year, due to terms agreed in the contract and a higher number of league fixtures in the Championship leading to further operating losses.

“This estimate is not as high as first feared, but still represents a significant financial burden for London taxpayers,” Mahfouz wrote.

“This is money that might otherwise have been spent on public services or boosting London’s economy.”

Other revenue-raising suggestions included more flexibility in when the stadium could host concerts. Due to the timing of the football season, the London Stadium doesn’t tend to put such events on in September.

A spokesperson for Khan said: “London Stadium sits at the heart of the world’s most successful Olympic and Paralympic legacy, helping to drive growth, investment and opportunity across east London.

“The reality remains that the previous mayor negotiated and approved a contract with West Ham United for London Stadium that is a bad financial deal for Londoners. The GLA has no choice but to honour the contract, which doesn’t provide any form of break clause and delivers significant losses to the taxpayer.

“The mayor has been clear that he would consider any credible proposal for the Stadium, provided it offers value for taxpayers, protects the public interest and preserves the wider economic, social and sporting benefits the venue delivers for London.”

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