"It is very, very important for Newham because there is no doubt West Ham United is the biggest leisure company in the borough," he stresses.
"It employs a large number of people and attracts them into the borough every two weeks."
He is delighted that the council's relationship with the club is a harmonious one, which is why the ongoing redevelopment of the ground is going so smoothly, and he adds:
"It was paramount that we all got together to do the job on time, and the ground looks magnificent.
"If you look at the scale of the development, other local authorities would have had a lot of complaints, but we have had very few from local residents.
"One of the things that is remarkable, going round the area, is that you don't really notice the amount of work that is going on as opposed to the Channel tunnel works that are going on in Stratford."
The next phase of work will see the lower tier of the Dr. Martens stand being completed, and Hutton, a season ticket holder, says the public transport will be able to meet the demand.
"The tube should be able to cope in November," he says, "and we are always in contact with London Underground.
"We would always encourage people to use public transport rather than to drive in."