Love it or hate it, the fact is we live in a footballing world of “corporate hospitality.”
It goes with the territory in the Premier League of 2015!
And in launching details of the new Olympic Stadium ‘Boleyn Pub’ – at prices most of us may not want meet – West Ham are merely replicating what’s already available at Upton Park.
What we are talking about here is a low level corporate hospitality package and it’s nothing new – there have been various packages available at the club for years.
Obviously, the scheme is targeted at the better off and will no doubt be greeted with dismay and scorn by many but it really is the way of the world I’m afraid.
After all It’s not being forced on anybody and for myself I wouldn’t accept such a package if it was offered as a freebie. It makes football feel more like a social function rather a 90 minute roller coaster ride alongside your mates.
It’s not part of what I know and not something I hanker after in any way. Quite happy to sit in the crowd and join the queue for the half time refreshment!
However, if there are people around – as there obviously are – who want to eat “traditional East End food” (really?), grab a half time beer, be handed a programme and sit on the halfway line for £2616 in year one and just over £2000 thereafter that’s up to them!
We can be as contemptuous as we like about them and would have every right to be were there not going to be a variety of other bars and coffee “shops” around the stadium serving drinks and food at prices more suited to our ‘rockets.’
I was told this afternoon that will certainly be the case and although it’s still under wraps, various forms of entertainment are being planned. Nobody should feel deprived!
Let’s not go crazy about a low level hospitality package for those who for reasons best known to themselves want to spend their hard earned on it.
A free progamme, a beer? Most of us can live without that I reckon but it’s up to them.
COYI!
Looks awful, like a Hells Kitchen set, good luck to them if they can sell it to people like you it’s not my cup of tea, prefer to meet up in a pub before the match and not get too sloshed during it otherwise you don’t remember what you paid all the money for 😉
It’s the positioning of the seats which are linked to the bar which is the biggest tragedy here
I’ve written a little article myself today about this and a few other corporate issues if you’re interested. Feel free to put it on your site Hugh: http://a-funny-old-game.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/we-are-west-ham-plcs-skint-purple-army.html
It’s no bloody good, if it don’t serve beef tea! 😉
How does Scott Parker get on the wall with the legends?
Seriously. moore Brooking hurst … But Scott Parker journeyman mercenary who left us for Spurs should not be on the same wall.
Said exactly the same to a number of people at the club
I don’t have an issue with hospitality but the design of this so called ‘pub’ is a joke. It’s a boring, sterile design; plastering claret and blue on a few things and sticking a few pictures of players on the wall is cheap, lazy and unimaginative.
Then again I won’t be paying for membership so why should I care!
I think it might be the choice of name thats upsetting a few (my Dad for one) anyone could pop in the Boleyn for a pint before kick off BUT not this New Boleyn
I was hoping they might build a pub right outside the stadium but that looks unlikely now
Fair enough Pens…what would u sooner have seen?
Something that actually looked like a pub would be a start, especially if they are going to use the Boleyn name. I understand they want to retain some links to our roots, but for goodness sake, using a bit of claret and blue and calling it the Boleyn pub does not smack of any effort or genuine desire to do that. I’ll bet most of the people who will be drinking in this Ikea cafe have never even set foot in the real Boleyn.
I’m not a designer, but I know that what they have designed is very, very unimaginative and lazy. But as I say, it doesn’t really matter to me so I don’t know I’m even writing this!
Just a moan-up then 😉
Yep.