Tuesday 4 April 2017 19:35, UK
Vodafone is close to agreeing a £20m naming rights deal for the London Olympic Stadium, Sky sources understand.
Negotiations between the telecoms giant and the stadium owners, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), have been ongoing for several months.
But they are understood to be close to agreeing a six-year deal worth £20m, meaning the company will pay more for naming rights (£3.3m per year) than West Ham are in rent to play there (£2.5m per year).
Securing a high-profile brand in Vodafone will be seen as an endorsement of an arena that has had significant challenges since it began being used by West Ham last August.
It is also a fillip to the LLDC's business model, with all revenue from the deal going to the publicly-owned body rather than West Ham.
Last year, it was revealed that conversion costs of the stadium had soared by £50m more than previously revealed by former London mayor Boris Johnson.
It also emerged that moving supposedly retractable seats to facilitate athletics could cost up to £8m each summer.
London mayor Sadiq Khan recently ordered a review of the stadium's costs and financing following the revelations that will get under way shortly.
The arena, which has cost more than £700m in taxpayer funds, stages the World Athletics Championships in August.
