The renovations to the London Stadium to get it ready for hosting Major League Baseball games will cost the British taxpayer millions, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claims that taxpayers have had to fork out millions of pounds to help finance the adaptation of the Hammers’ stadium, which will host the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on Saturday.
The London Stadium bosses have remained tight-lipped on the actual cost of the renovations, but have admitted that it will be significantly more than the £4million spent getting the ground ready for the athletics last summer but less than the £11million paid in 2017 for the IAAF World Championships.
Officials however, believe that the money paid by the MLB to hire the venue, along with the cash generated by food and drink sales, will cover the cost of the stadium change.
OPINION
The London Stadium has become quite the albatross hanging round the British public’s neck, hasn’t it? It seems that the British people have had to finance a fair few stadium changes over the years, which is what happens when a football team moves in to what was ostensibly built as an athletics ground. However, while you imagine the London Stadium is roped in to hosting athletics for many years to come, why should that be the case with baseball as well? Clearly the bosses at the stadium see the MLB as a money-spinning venture, otherwise they wouldn’t have agreed to it. However, before the event makes money it’s wound up costing the taxpayer millions. Who even knows if the food and drink sales will be enough to cover the cost of the renovations, especially with baseball on the decline in terms of popularity. You do wonder how many West Ham fans would take a return to Upton Park – if that were possible – over the constant complications of life at the London Stadium.
