黑洞社区

The mayor of London has ordered an inquiry into the conversion of the Olympic Stadium after it was revealed costs have soared by a further 拢51m to over 拢320m.

The total cost of building the Olympic Stadium and subsequently turning it into football club West Ham鈥檚 new home has now tripled to over 拢700m from its initial estimate.

Of this 拢700m-plus, less than 3% is being paid for by the private sector. West Ham is paying just 拢2.5m in rent per year to the public sector.

The price of retractable seating for the stadium to enable it to quickly convert from a football stadium to athletics venue alone has risen from an estimated 拢300,000 to 拢8m, according to reports, and was one of the main factors that triggered the mayor鈥檚 decision.

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), which has overseen and commissioned the stadium鈥檚 conversion, awarded the 拢154m contract to Balfour Beatty, which had to rebuild large parts of the stadiums structure, as well as redo foundations and piling in order to bear the strain of supporting the largest cantilevered roof in the world.

The LLDC鈥檚 current chairman David Edmonds speaking to 黑洞社区 in the summer admitted the conversion cost was 鈥渃onsiderable鈥�.

He added: 鈥淭he roof cost a lot more than we thought, because once we started to do the designs for the cantilevered roof, we realised that more strengthening had to go in than originally expected. Secondly, the development and evolution of the retractable seating has also been more expensive. I don鈥檛 attempt to hide the fact it has cost a lot more than originally planned.鈥�