David Gold: Taxpayer will profit from “ridiculous” Olympic Stadium thanks to West Ham
David Gold has argued that the taxpayer will make a profit on West Ham's move into the £700m Olympic Stadium.
The West Ham co-owner rebuked claims that their annual £2.5m rent agreement represented a poor deal for the taxpayer by arguing that the Premier League side have saved the stadium from a future of neglect.
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Gold believes the stadium's future is more viable as a football ground rather than being reserved for athletics and that the general public has misunderstood such benefits.
"We [the UK] built a stadium that was built by a number of very arrogant people that had no foresight for the future," Gold told The Guardian.
"They built a ridiculous stadium but we have made the best of it…The taxpayer is going to make a profit. It wouldn't make a profit if you tore down the stadium and put it into a 25,000-seater, would it? Come on, how many people are going to watch the world championship hop, skip and jump?"
His comments echo the defence from vice-chairwoman Karren Brady who claimed that the fact the stadium would be being put to use "should be a cause for congratulations".