How much money West Ham pay for London Stadium as Daniel Kretinsky plots major change | OneFootball

The Czech investor is plotting what would be a welcome change in E20

West Ham United's recent history has certainly been full of drama, and now the East London club are preparing for a first season in the Championship for 14 years.

Three years ago, the Hammers won their first European honour since 1965 by defeating Fiorentina in the UEFA Conference League final in Prague, but have lacked stability on so many levels since, and that must change if they are to mount a successful promotion bid at the first time of asking.

That said, in Nuno Espírito Santo, West Ham do have someone in the dugout who can boast a Championship title success on his CV, having done so with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 2017/18 season.

It has been confirmed that Nuno will be staying on to oversee his first full season as head coach after taking over from Graham Potter last September, although in the boardroom, there are plenty of changes expected.

Since 2010, David Sullivan has overseen matters as a majority investor in the Irons, having worked alongside David Gold - until the co-owner's passing in January 2023 - and Karren Brady.

However, given the club's situation and their feeling that the heart and soul of West Ham has been lost since the move from Upton Park to the London Stadium a decade ago, both have resigned, leaving Czech billionaire, Daniel Křetínský, poised to extend his stake in the club to a controlling one of 43%.

And it now appears that the 50-year-old has some extremely exciting plans in the pipeline, which include changes to the club's leased E20 home and other infrastructural aspects such as the training ground.

It is an exciting prospect for fans, no doubt, but also one which those not associated with the club are likely to keep an eye on.

How much money West Ham United currently pay for the London Stadium as Daniel Křetínský eyes exciting change

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Indeed, it has now been 10 years since West Ham swapped the traditional, old-school feeling which many felt at Upton Park for the London Stadium under Slaven Bilic's management.

Their switch came four years after London was the host city of the 2012 Olympic Games, having eventually signed a 99-year lease with the Greater London Authority back in 2013, with a drawn-out negotiation process revealing that the club would initially pay £2m per year in rent, as well as only putting £15m towards its conversion costs into a football-based stadium.

However, due to natural inflation to the GBP, such figures had gone up to £4.4m as of the start of their recent relegation campaign, and that figure is set to drop into their Championship season to approximately £2.5m.

As such, London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, informed London taxpayers that they may lose a similar combined fee themselves to bridge the remainder of the funding gap.

And, even though it will be hosting four more league matches in 2026/27, West Ham are set to see their commercial incomes take a huge hit, meaning aspects such as gate receipts and merchandise purchases will be seen as key funds.

West Ham United fans will welcome Daniel Křetínský's London Stadium plans

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Despite its grandeur, the London Stadium, which still boasted the Premier League's second-best average attendance figures behind Old Trafford last season, has often received plenty of criticism.

Therefore, supporters of West Ham, and their future opponents, would certainly get on board with Kretinsky's idea of making it feel more purposeful for hosting football matches by moving seats closer to the pitch and removing the infamous running track across its perimeter.

It has also been reported that UK Athletics' further use of the stadium is 'unlikely', which could also be seen as a welcome boost to such plans, even though the ultimate cost of what Kretinsky hopes will come to fruition is yet to be revealed.

For now, though, this won't be the major thing on the stakeholder's mind, as he looks to help Nuno assemble a squad capable of winning promotion back to the top-flight, with the expected sales of Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville potentially going a long way to helping generate north of £100m in income to help balance the club's current financial books before targeting incomings.