The latest hurdle surrounds Britain’s bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships at the London Stadium, because the event would clash with West Ham’s soccer matches.
British 800m star Keely Hodgkinson weighed in earlier this year and called for a solution to be found; Talks are understood to be ongoing.
Then there are the complex agreements drawn up after the 2012 Games.
UKA is understood to be paying £35,000 a year under its 50-year lease to the London Stadium, while West Ham’s relegation to the Premier League means the club’s £4.4m annual rent for the venue is being halved, with taxpayers picking up the rest.
It costs £3m each time the London Stadium changes seats from a football configuration to an athletics configuration, but neither UKA nor Diamond League ticket holders pay for it – the stadium does.
This brings the total taxpayer bill for the use of the London Stadium in the year 2026-27 to £23 million, as set out in the Greater London Authority’s budget.
A spokesman for Sir Sadiq told the BBC that the West Ham lease was “a poor financial deal for Londoners” signed under the previous mayor, with no buy-out clause and “significant losses for the taxpayer”.
Sir Sadiq’s office praised the stadium as a “very valuable asset for London”, while at the same time saying he was “proud” of the redevelopment of Crystal Palace and “continuing to work with partners and the local community on plans for the major renovation of the athletics stadium”.
A senior athletics source said any “speculation about other venues is irrelevant” and that the London Stadium “continues to be a great venue” for the sport, but that bosses also support investment in sporting facilities across the country.
The Crystal Palace campaigners’ argument is that by investing in an already-built stadium, taxpayers save money in the long term and athletics has a natural home. They say concerts, offices and film shoots would generate a viable income stream.