West Ham fans hope that their relegation to the Championship can tear down the house that David Sullivan built and allow them to rebuild financially and as a community institution.
Daniel Kretinsky is set to become the club’s largest shareholder in the coming days or weeks, surpassing Sullivan, whose days at the London Stadium appear numbered.
The London Stadium itself was the physical manifestation of a regime that has been penny-wise but pound-foolish. By doing an on-the-cheap deal for the former Olympic stadium, Sullivan simultaneously placed a ceiling on West Ham’s ambitions and ripped the soul out of the club.
Premier League relegation was no less than they deserved. It’s just a travesty that it had to come at the expense of the bedrock fans who have seen their club change nearly beyond all recognition.
But with Sullivan and Karen Brady gone, Kretinsky has the opportunity to start afresh. Psychologically, as well as financially, it could be huge.
West Ham will be the Championship’s main attraction next season. And once the Irons have got their house in order with the requisite player sales they need to make in order to balance the books, they will have the division’s biggest budget by far.
Even without parachute payments, their spending power would still exceed all of their rivals thanks to their commercial and matchday income.
Season ticket prices have fallen significantly ahead of 2026-27, but the four extra matches in the Championship and the London Stadium’s hospitality facilities and geography mean it will still be the most lucrative ground in the Championship by far.
What’s more, West Ham’s revenue from sponsorship and retail – encompassed under ‘commercial income’ in the accounts – could set new records for a second tier club.
Currently, the £58m Leeds United earned from commercial sources in 2024-25 is the record for a Championship club. But West Ham earned £56m last season and, with the news that Boyle Sports is staying on as front-of-shirt sponsor, albeit almost certainly at a reduced rate, means that they are in with a shot of beating the record next season.
Whether they do or not will depend on what they categorise as commercial income. Leeds, for example, include catering receipts, whereas it appears West Ham do not. There are other discrepancies which, if West Ham recalibrate, could allow them to top Leeds’ record.
