London Stadium is targeting boxing crowds of up to 85,000 as its operators look to make greater commercial use of the former Olympic venue and chip away at persistent operating losses.
Under proposals submitted to Newham Council, boxing would be reclassified alongside events such as Soccer Aid as an “other leisure event”. That change would let major fights be staged above the 60,000 limit that currently applies to sporting events at the Stratford ground.
Qualifying events could then hold as many as 85,000 spectators, putting the stadium in a stronger position to compete with Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the biggest fights on the British boxing calendar.
The plans have not yet been approved, and no fight has been booked. But the proposal, reported today, shows how far the stadium’s operators are willing to go to find new revenue as the venue’s finances come under strain.
What the application asks for
The boxing change forms part of a wider planning application first submitted in August, rather than a new proposal prompted by West Ham United’s relegation — although relegation has hardly helped matters.
Under the wider application, the number of permitted concerts and other leisure events each year would rise from 10 to 24, with up to eight allowed to reach the 85,000 capacity. The permitted capacity for other sporting events would rise from 60,000 to 62,500.
At the same time, the annual number of sports events would fall from 87 to 70. Bosses say that reduction will not affect West Ham games, and supporters have been assured there will be no impact on football at the ground.
The stadium would operate all events at a maximum music noise level of 75 decibels. Currently, noise is capped at 75 decibels for six of its permitted annual events and 65 decibels for the remaining four.
The money problem behind the plan
The push for bigger, more lucrative events comes against a difficult financial backdrop. The stadium loses around £19 million a year, according to figures discussed at the London Assembly. Chair Lyn Garner told the Assembly in July that losses had been in the “ballpark” of £19m “for some time”, and that 2025/26 had been a “particularly bad year” for the venue, with only two summer concerts.
West Ham do not themselves own the stadium. Under the club’s long-term stadium agreement, its annual usage fee falls when the club is outside the Premier League. City Hall says the club had been paying around £4.6 million a year, with relegation reducing that figure by approximately £2.5 million.
The London Assembly has previously estimated that relegation could therefore increase the cost to the taxpayer by around £2 million to £2.5 million a year compared with West Ham remaining in the top flight. Championship football also brings more home fixtures, increasing the number of matchdays the venue must stage.
That is the context for the boxing proposal: a sold-out 85,000 fight night would be a very different commercial proposition from a 60,000-capacity sporting event, and the stadium’s operators believe it could help close the gap.
Competing with Wembley and Spurs
The ambition is clear. Wembley has staged some of the biggest fights of recent years, including the 96,000 crowd allowed for Anthony Joshua against Daniel Dubois in 2024, while Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has also become a major fight venue. London Stadium, by contrast, has never staged a boxing event at all.
That absence is striking given the area’s boxing history. West Ham’s old ground, Upton Park, hosted David Haye against Derek Chisora, and the nearby Copper Box Arena has staged boxing regularly since 2013. The main stadium, however, has sat empty for the sport despite its size.
There is also a second prize in play. Increasing the maximum attendance is described as “vital” for the stadium’s bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships, which would need the higher 62,500 sporting capacity.
For now, though, everything rests on the planning process. The application, which can be viewed on Newham Council’s planning website under reference 26/01784/FUL, has not been decided, and no timetable for a decision has been given. Until it is approved, the 85,000 boxing crowd remains an ambition rather than a booking — but it is an ambition the stadium’s operators are now pursuing in public.
Elsewhere in the capital, Wembley Stadium has itself been at the centre of debate over major events, while Tottenham Hotspur Stadium continues to host large-scale fixtures. Stratford itself remains a focus of major development, with plans for the area to become a new Eurostar stop also under discussion.
