West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has admitted that the club would be interested in buying the London Stadium if the chance arose.
The Irons currently lease their ground after departing Upton Park – also known as the Boleyn Ground – but there are tensions between them and the current managers after a number of issues at the ground.
However, speaking at the London Assembly Budget Monitoring Sub-Committee meeting on Wednesday, Brady did not rule out the possibility of purchasing the former Olympic Stadium from the current owners if the opportunity came up.
“It’s certainly something we would think about,” was her seven-word reply, as quoted by Football London journalist Sam Inkersole on Twitter.
Brady also added that no talks have taken place regarding a potential deal.
Brady is asked if West Ham would buy the London Stadium if offered it. “It’s certainly something we would think about” was her response. But, she added some of the contracts in place would make it difficult to do so. Buying the stadium has not been discussed, however.
— Sam Inkersole (@Sam_InkersoleTM) October 17, 2018
OPINION
Brady does not give much away here in her stance on whether the club would be willing to buy the ground off the current owners. With the number of issues that they have had with the current managers, it would not be surprising to see West Ham make a step towards making the stadium their own. However, this would be expensive, and it remains to be seen whether the board will want to make such an investment after spending around £100 million on players this summer. Buying the London Stadium would not actually heed many benefits other than having full ownership, so the possibility of a sale does not look very likely at the moment. The Hammers may be in a better position in a few years’ time, but at the moment, buying the ground off the current owners does not seem very necessary. Yes, West Ham fans would like a stadium that they can call their own – but they will have to wait a while until that happens.
