West Ham United's new stadium could be called the Mahindra Stadium
In what would be a proud moment for Indians, Premier League side West Ham United are reportedly deep in talks to sign their stadium name away to Mahindra motors. The Hammers are currently moving from Boleyn Ground to the beautiful Olympic Stadium constructed for the 2012 games.
Possibly named the 'Mahindra Stadium', the Indian conglomerate will pay the Premier League club around £6 million a year of which £1 million will go to the club – as agreed when they signed the tenancy agreement which dictated that they'll receive half of the sponsorship amount worth above £4 million.
West Ham secured the 'deal of the century' – often what it's called – after a lengthy legal battle which ended a few months ago. They'll only have to shell out a yearly rent of £2.5 million while pitch work, cost of the goal posts, corner flags and everything else will have to be maintained by the Association.
The LLDC – London Legacy Development Corporation – initially approached industry giants IMG over a £15 million-a-year deal but talks didn't progress and they were forced to look elsewhere.
While Mahindra aren't the first name the British would think of, the Indian giants boast of an annual business worth £11 billion in electronics, automobiles, energy, defence and farm equipment. And West Ham could do with some money coming in to push them further up in the Premier League table.
The Hammers have had an incredible season in the Premier League this time around under their new manager, Slaven Bilic. Currently sixth on the table and only three points behind Manchester United, they can qualify for the UEFA Europa League if they keep their doing what they're doing.
With the likes of Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini this season, the club have progressed from last season and will look to push into the top four in the coming season with the extra money they're able to generate.