The chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), responsible for the management and development of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, previously said she is “very confident” and “hopeful” of selling naming rights for the loss-making London Stadium during 2023, and therefore of reducing its operating deficit in the future.

Speaking to a meeting of the full London Assembly at City Hall back in March 2023 Lyn Garner struck an upbeat note, saying “we now have a number of sponsors engaged at quite a high level” to discuss a sponsorship deal encompassing the stadium and the park “which we are doing together”, and confirmed that Sadiq Khan is “very willing to get involved in the search for a stadium sponsor” at an appropriate time.

Six months later and there is no sign of any announcement or deal on the horizon and that prediction of a conclusion in 2023 now seems extremely unlikely with October just a week away.

West Ham have to be consulted about any naming rights partner and to our knowledge this has not happened pouring more cold water on LLDC CEO’s bold claims earlier this year.

With the London Mayoral election next May, Sadiq Khan is unlikely to get involved before any election and we could see a change of mayor with conversative candidate Susan Hall neck and neck in the polls.

Hall could well have a different view of what to do with the London Stadium than her predecessor if elected.

London Assembly member Susan Hall tore into LLDC CEO Lyn Garner last December in a Budget and performance committee meeting about the London Stadium owner’s failure to progress on naming rights.  In a robust exchange, Hall said she did not find the subject remotely funny, to which Garner replied I was smiling, not laughing.