In a week during which the future of West Ham’s home hit the media again thanks to the owners desperately seeking a way out of their financial cut de sac, some pretty spectacular claims were made about the former Olympic Stadium’s ability to host huge events in the future.
West Ham fans, used to enormous queues and delays just to get inside will find the jaw-dropping suggestion that a further twenty thousand people could be crammed into the arena pretty implausible.
Yes, it coped -somehow- aided by a veritable army of volunteers and impeccably behaved ‘olympic-going’ families, with 80,000 in 2012. But they weren’t all trying to arrive at exactly the same time, were they.
Add the temporary nature of the upper tiers and the constant leaks, queues for everything and the long, post-event shuffle back to Stratford station, unlit and with the hated walking traffic lights halting progress as the rain falls whilst the misery becomes abject, and you have a sporting venue wholly unfit even for its current 62,500 capacity.
London Stadium queues: Try doing it at night, in the rain and the dark. along with another 25,000 fans. No thanks.
Yet 85,000 is the claim. According to sportscape magazine:
“London Stadium Aims for 85,000-People Boxing Spectacles to Generate Income Post-Relegation..aiming to offset £19M losses and drive £15M local economic boost.”
“…By making a formal request to the Newham Council to have boxing bouts categorised as “other leisure events” so as to facilitate the increase in the maximum capacity of the event from 60,000 to 85,000.”
Clutching. At. Straws.
You’d hope the licensing authority will see sense and deny the venue permission. Anyone who’s tried to get to, and from the stadium on a match day will understand why adding another 20,000 – presumably standing on the floor of the arena – but with the same access arrangements, the same shortage of toilets and concessions, will understand the unsuitability of the arena and it’s dreadful surrounds for further expansion.
It needs knocking down and rebuilding, West Ham fans will all tell you that. But with the Hammers’ 99 year lease, that is never going to happen. So further ‘ideas’ to try and turn a profit will surely keep failing thanks to the poor commercial design, the very temporary nature of the upper parts of the structure and the facility- free wasteland that surrounds the ground.
85,000? Well, I won’t be one of them. Not even if you paid me.
The problem is not just the stadium. The whole area is wrong for West Ham. I remember years ago there was talk of building a stadium in East Ham at a disused bus depot.There must be sites West Ham can explore even if it means the maximum capacity is just 40,000. Still far better than the athletics bowl.
Why would we want to drop down to 40k? Talk about unambitious and being two bob.
We might as well go the full distance and ground-share with Leyton Orient.