The Olympic Stadium in London is likely to be named Mahindra Stadium after the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) almost finalised a deal worth around £6 million a year with Mumbai-based technology giant and car maker Mahindra Group. The present title holder West Ham United's tenancy will end soon. Out of £6 million deal, £1m will go to West Ham.
An announcement is expected before West Ham say farewell to Upton Park at the end of this season, after which they will become anchor tenants of the £701m Olympic Stadium on a 99-year lease. Although Mahindra is not a household name in Britain, it has annual sales of £11 billion and businesses spanning energy, defence and farm equipment.
The terms of West Ham’s tenancy of the Olympic Stadium, which were finally published last week following a long legal battle, revealed that the club are entitled to 50 per cent of the annual revenue from naming rights above the initial £4m. A deal with Mahindra would also end the LLDC’s tortuous search for a title sponsor, which saw sports marketing giant IMG initially target a £15m-a-year backer.
Critics claimed the club had been handed “the deal of the century” by the LLDC and there were calls for the matter to be investigated by Parliament’s financial watchdog. The contract confirmed West Ham would not only be charged just £2.5m per year in rent, but would not pay a penny towards the upkeep of the stadium, including towards pitch maintenance, goalposts and goal nets and corner flags.
