London Stadium to host big boxing events and increase concerts as it seeks to reduce £20m taxpayer bill

The London Stadium is set to host large-scale boxing matches and increase concerts as the Greater London Authority seeks to reduce the £20 million yearly bill taxpayers face from its operation. The GLA owns the London Stadium LLP and the football team plays there under an agreement running until 2115.Taxpayers have shouldered the £19 million yearly bill for the operating loss of the stadium. When West Ham was relegated from the Premier League last season, its £4.6 million annual rent was slashed by £2.5 million under terms set out in its contract, pushing this further cost onto Londoners.West Ham United’s ground owners want to challenge Wembley as the capital’s premier location for eventsGettyCommercial revenues from the former Olympic stadium have also fallen and the GLA will incur higher stewarding costs because there are 23 home games in the Championship compared with 19 in the Premier League.Under plans going before Newham council on Monday, the stadium authority is seeking permission to increase annual events from 10 to 24. Boxing and Soccer Aid will be recategorised under the plans so crowds of 85,000 people can attend, up from current restrictions of 60,000. Maximum capacity for eight events a year will rise to 85,000, while the others will stay at the current capacity of 80,000. Consecutive nights for concerts will also increase from three to four, under the proposals. Last summer, the stadium hosted Take That over three nights and Metallica for two in a bid to boost revenue.But the extra income only just covered the losses incurred by West Ham’s relegation and rent reduction. Last summer, the stadium hosted Take That over three nightsGettyUnder the stadium authority’s proposals, capacity for all sports events will increase to 62,500 to match the capacity of West Ham games. Read MoreIt is hoped that staging more boxing matches at the ground will be a huge cash raiser.An upcoming bout between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury at Cardiff’s 80,000-seater Principality Stadium in December is expected to bring in excess of £20 million. Labour London Assembly member Bassam Mahfouz urged Lord Khan to consider selling the stadium to the football club as way to avoid losing tens of millions of pounds a year.He said the current arrangement, where West Ham pays rent to use the stadium as its home ground, had proved “disastrous” for London taxpayers.West Ham fans arrive at the London Stadium AFP/GettyOver the summer, Lyn Garner, Chair of London Stadium LLP, warned that “the financial situation remains challenging”.“In 25/26, we are going to finalise the accounts at around a £19m operating loss,” Ms Garner told a meeting of City Hall’s Economy, Culture and Skills Committee.“This is not unusual. It's been in this ballpark for some time. We have a few peaks and troughs, depending on how many summer events we have.”She added that 25/26 had been a “particularly bad year for London Stadium, with only two summer concerts”.