Olympic Stadium costs rise

The overall bill for the Olympic Stadium is set to soar well beyond £600m before West Ham United move in after it emerged that installing the complex roof would be far more expensive than originally thought.

The complications will not cost West Ham – due to move into the 54,000-seat stadium from the start of the 2016-17 season – another penny on top of the £15m they have pledged towards the conversion.

The overall bill for the Olympic Stadium is set to soar well beyond £600m before West Ham United move in after it emerged that installing the complex roof would be far more expensive than originally thought.

The complications will not cost West Ham – due to move into the 54,000-seat stadium from the start of the 2016-17 season – another penny on top of the £15m they have pledged towards the conversion.

Construction Enquirer magazine reported that Balfour Beatty had asked for an extra £50m to cover complications in strengthening the roof and extending it over a new cantilevered structure that will cover retractable seats to be rolled out during the football season.

It adds to the workload to complete the project by August 2016 – itself an extension of the original timetable. Building must pause during the 2015 Rugby World Cup next summer, when five matches will be played in the stadium.

In addition to the £154m contract agreed with Balfour Beatty, which will rise because of the roof issues, there are believed to be additional elements that will take the overall cost to more than £600m by even the most conservative estimate.

Under the terms of the deal announced in March last year Newham Council borrowed £40m towards the conversion, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport supplied £38.7m and a further £25m will come from the Department for Communities and Local Government. West Ham will pay £15m and the rest will be borrowed by the LLDC.