West Ham bid farewell to their historic home of over 100 years, Upton Park, in May of 2016 and moved to the Olympic stadium in Stratford, the home of the London 2012 Olympic games.
The East London club do not currently own the London Stadium, instead, they signed a 99 year lease agreement to secure tenancy in the iconic venue when the move was being completed in the summer of 2016.
Struggling To Adjust
The first couple of seasons at their new home were a real challenge for the Hammers and took their toll on the club. Struggles on the pitch, difficulty in replicating the memorable atmosphere Upton Park was able to create and, with many fans struggling to come to terms with leaving the club’s spiritual home behind, the adjustment period certainly took a lot longer than the West Ham ownership would have anticipated.
I sat down with fellow Rising East reporter and West Ham supporter, Alex Smith, to gather his perspective on the move to the London Stadium five years on, and to discuss the different ways in which it has impacted the club. The London Stadium has around 25,000 more seats than Upton Park, holding 60,000 supporters.
Attracting Stars
We began by discussing whether this helps the club in attracting potential new players. Alex told Rising East: “We’ve signed a couple of big name players since we’ve gone there which we might not have actually been able to get if we were at Upton Park” He added: “There’s a bit of thought amongst the fans that it’s not really made a difference (in terms of attracting players) but I think it has, especially to the foreign players.”
He did, however, emphasise that there is the opposite side to the debate and that the draw of living in London could encourage some players to join the club simply for the money. “It can help attract big players but it could also lead to a few looking for a payday and to live in London.”
“We Can Go Somewhere”
Another point we discussed was the atmosphere at the London Stadium. As someone who has regularly attended games since the stadium move I wanted to discover how Alex felt the atmosphere had changed at the ground, particularly after the turbulent first couple of seasons in Stratford.
Many fans of opposing teams have labelled the London Stadium a soulless bowl, but has the atmosphere actually improved with time?
Alex told us: “There was a time when we first moved to the London Stadium where you would turn up and you’d fully expect to lose 3 or 4-0 to the likes of City and Liverpool” Speaking on the Hammers current season Alex added: “Now there’s a bit of a feeling on the pitch we can go somewhere, the atmosphere is so much better.”
West Ham fans have had an up and down relationship with their new stadium since the club moved to Stratford.
However, with what looks to be another season of progress for the East London side under manager David Moyes, with some massive results already, Hammers fans will be hoping there are more memorable trips to the London Stadium to come, especially as last season was behind closed doors.
