Olympic Stadium deal to be investigated

It appears The Lord Mayor's office is about to launch an investigation into the dodgy dealings on how the Spammers got to use the Olympic stadium so cheaply.
Bet Levy is going to watch this one closely.

 

I doubt it is the Lord Mayor looking into it. The London mayor is saying the right things but as the deal (however corrupt) is already signed and sealed I doubt much can be done.

 

The news article quotes a few different points of view particularly the costs of re aligning to make it a football stadium they say it would have been better to rebuild.

 

Not sure if the investigation will actually cover the Spammers con/deal unfortunately. Most commentary suggests it is focussing on the conversion costs only, which have risen beyond reason....
But at least something is being looked into, which is a start

 

So even more money will be spent chasing the money wasted on this white elephant?

But, as Debbie Harry put it, will anything happen?

 

It's that, in this evening's Standard, the response from "a source close to Boris" is harrumphing that the stadium's built so we should just accept it and shut up.

Just like supporters of that other pack lies Boris was a major part of...

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37858822

 

The Chairman of the LLDC, the dodgy body charged with the responsibility of managing the post-Olympics asets or mis-managing them as it has turned out to be, has resigned. This has to be one of the least shocking pieces of 'news' of all time. As soon as they tried to withold figures of the dodgy deal with the Spammers, alarm bells should have been ringing and now the authorities should get down there sharpish before the remaining papers can be added to a bonfire this weekend. I'm betting the computers have already sold on ebay.

I'll wager that there's more ridiculous expenditure yet to be admitted to and this story ain't nearly over yet. A number of projects with Boris' dabs on them are going to become news in the months ahead.

It just happens that the gentleman concerned, Dave Edmonds, didn't spend the 70's and 80's knocking around with Nick Lowe and Rockpile but had a political career. I'll bet that guessing which party he represented isn't too difficult?

That's right, it's another Tory politician in this unseemly tale. This one was Michael Hesletine's former Private Secretary. When Hesletine left the House of Commons he was replaced in the highly safe Tory seat by.............one Boris Johnson, who later gets Dave the gig as LLDC Chairman. Dodgy jobs for the dodgy boys.

 

What was it that Theresa may harrumphed at PMQs yesterday? Something about getting houses in order?

 

This is a massive over reaction imho.
Seriously, why are spurs fans being so jealous of West Ham's luck.

Just because a Tory Mayor Of London and the Head of London 2012 Olympic team (who is a Tory supporter and an ex Tory MP) let West Ham have a stadium which cost around £500m to build and renovate it does not mean there was anything underhand going on.
It is probably just a strange coincidence that West Ham are owned and run by a Tory Baroness and two Tory Party donors.
The fact that West Ham only have to pay £2.5m per year, do not have to pay for security, corner flags, stewarding etc. while raking in a minimum of £100m this year alone in the Premier League does not mean that West Ham have been effectively financed by the tax payer.
I mean, seriously, no Tory politicians would short change the public purse by such a massive amount in a time of cuts and austerity just to help out Tory friends and donors. That would make this Tory government two faced, hypocritical, lying scumbags. I think this is just looney leftie moaning!

 

People can be soooooo suspicious, can't they?

 

This today from the Beeb:

The resignation of David Edmonds, chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), is just the latest episode in what has now become one of the longest-running, vexing and expensive controversies in British sport.

And with the city's mayor ordering an inquiry into the former Olympic Stadium's finances after the vast cost of converting it into West Ham's new home continued to spiral by another £50m, and mounting questions over its suitability as a football venue after recent fan disorder, the danger now is that the iconic centrepiece of 2012's 'Golden Games', rather than being an enduring symbol of inspiration, sporting glory, and legacy, instead becomes one of chronic waste, poor planning, and mismanagement. A symbol not of celebration, but of anger.

Anger - from London taxpayers who look set to foot the bill for extra costs that appear out of control, and who now read that the stadium's board members were warned this year that the venue may never make a profit, despite original pledges to the contrary.

The LLDC were "warned this year that the venue may never make a profit."

Really? Given the deal they struck, I am amazed that anyone could possibly suggest that and keep a straight face. If the stadium was at the end of a rainbow every day until the end of the 99 year lease, there wouldn't be enough gold to pay off the cost of moving the removable seats, let alone pay off the debt incurred in creating the world's largest UFC cage.

 

Mountain out of a molehill.

What is done is done and we should just move on.

 

My NI contributions went up by £40 per month in April. This happened to millions of people up and down the country cos the government needed to raise more money.
So giving away a public funded stadium which cost hundreds of millions to build and renovate to a football club which is guaranteed at least £100m plus millions from gate receipts this season alone is way out of line. It is either incompetence, corruption or a combination of both.
I am glad we did not get it and glad we are staying in north London but austerity is causing massive cuts to public services, to people wages, job security and life as a whole unless you happen to own a multi million pound premier league club and need a stadium.

 

More like:

"A mountain [of cash] into a **** heap."

I think one of the reasons why we get such **** leadership is apathy. When we accept appalling rubbish like this, we set the bar for future government. The leaders of this country can't run a piss up in a brewery. People like Boris Johnson award their mates fantastic jobs. They **** them up and walk away. Billions of pounds frittered away and nobody does or says anything?

If I gave the negotiations for the tenancy of that stadium to my cat, he'd do a better job. All it needed was a modest sponsorship deal [which they have completely ****ed up - surprise, surprise] and we'd be paying them to occupy the place. As it is,THE PLACE WILL NEVER MAKE A PENNY PIECE IN THE 100 YEARS IT'S DUE TO STAND THERE AND OUR GREAT GRANDCHILDREN WILL STILL BE PAYING FOR THIS.

But yeah, let it go.....why not?

 

@Blue and White
Are you suggesting that I missed the sarcastic tone of your response and acted like the petulant tart that my kids think I am
Think that proves that I am one hell of a dumbass!

 

Incidentally who had to pay the repair bill for the stadium after the Chelski / Spammer violence? A few chairs were ripped up and while not a huge bill compared to the cost of a giant white elephant, it would still be interesting to know. Mind you, given the costs of the conversion project, it probably costs £10,000 to repair one seat in that place.

 

I suspect it was the other way round

 

About missing the tone. Not the rest of it