Last weekend, hundreds of Hammers fans visited the Olympic Stadium and watched a closely fought rugby union international between the Barbarians and the Samoa.
iThe match was an important stepping stone towards the 2015 Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in less than three weeks.
It was also significant because it’s the first occasion retractable seating has been used.
More than 41,000 turned up for the game, and many West Ham fans were eager to try out the new seating for themselves rather than rely on virtual images. Some Irons season ticket holders made sure they sat in the seat they have purchased to watch home league games next season – just to see how it matched up to all the hype!
An overwhelming majority of fans came away saying how impressed they were with the sight lines and the great views on offer. It appears many of the fears were unfounded, with fans reporting being much closer to the action and to the pitch than they envisaged.
The other good news is the roof didn’t leak this time and spectators didn’t get wet when rain fell during the match!
The beer and toilets were the main areas of criticism! For while the catering kiosks were much better organised and manned than the athletics events in the Summer, fans complained they ran out of draft beer by half-time and were selling cans of John Smiths at £5 a pop.
The other major gripe were the toilets, with some fans suggesting there were three Ladies toilet blocks for every Male toilet block.
Both issues seem pretty straightforward to resolve before we move in to stadium in 2016.
Loos: That’s not how it seemed to me. If true, I am delighted that there are more loos for women than men. Considering that women generally take longer than men, they need more loos. It is shameful to go to public events to see queues of suffering women. Well done the designers…at last! All male chauvanist pigs are welcome to object…of course, any such an objection would define them as described….! I was there on Saturday, and there were masses of loos – period. No-one – men or women – had to queue. How this can be a ‘MAJOR GRIPE’ is utterly beyond me….Bonkers!
Can’t believe anyone would complain about toilets or beer for that matter ….my concern is that reports here have missed the fact that loads of people had to leave their front row seats when it rained!
Worse thing for me on Saturday was in getting from the OS to the Central Line after the match. It’s a much longer walk than the one from Upton Park station to the Boleyn, made worse by over-zealous stewards who bossed us around like we were criminals. I hope that the after match experience from next season will be made smoother by our club’s stewards.
As for the stadium seating and sight lines…… you won’t be disappointed. I sat in the upper tier and was pleasantly surprised by my view of the action. If I was selecting a season ticket seat in the lower tier, I’d go for one at least half way back (or nearer the corner flags if I wanted to be closer to the touchline.)
TRB: I don’t like the implication that you might be inferring you are NOT criminal. How am I going to explain that to my friends?
I was in block 148 behind the goal and those in the front 2 rows moved when it rained. It was not sweeping rain but I was in row 15 and felt some spots of rain so I would suggest that the first 5 behind goals are very prone to getting wet. This was my biggest concern. It was also useful as my children struggled to see as the angle of these seats was not steep enough. Other than that very impressed and the drink thing was blown up out of proposition when you see how much the rugby fans can drink .. And bring to their seats during the game.