Say what you want about the London Stadium, but it really is a massive venue.
Granted, it’s not built for football and it often feels as if West Ham are playing in a half-converted athletics stadium with the seats too far from the pitch.
But sometimes it’s worth remembering just how enormous the place actually is.
Back at the London Olympics in 2012, the then Olympic Stadium regularly accommodated crowds of around 80,000 as people flocked to Stratford to watch the likes of Usain Bolt and Jessica Ennis-Hill.
The configuration has changed significantly since then, with around 68,000 seats installed in football mode and the licensed matchday capacity lower.
And it’s the sheer scale of West Ham’s home which is about to produce a quite remarkable statistic on Friday night.
West Ham To Smash Wrexham Record
According to Football Ground Guide, Wrexham are set to break their all-time competitive attendance record when they face West Ham.
And it’s a record which has stood for 56 years.
A crowd of 54,096 watched Wrexham play Liverpool at Anfield in the FA Cup in 1970.
Remarkably, that remains the biggest competitive attendance in the Welsh club’s history.
Until Friday.
West Ham have already attracted more than 59,000 supporters for each of our three Championship home games this season, including an astonishing 62,264 against Charlton Athletic.
Therefore, barring something very strange happening, Wrexham’s 56-year record is about to be obliterated.
The London Stadium is not configured for football but still generates huge crowds
Championship Football In Front Of 60,000
Perhaps we’ve become slightly accustomed to it.
West Ham supporters turn up at the London Stadium every other week and seeing 60,000 people there doesn’t necessarily feel unusual anymore.
But it is.
Wrexham have played Manchester United at Old Trafford, Everton at Goodison Park and even appeared at Wembley. Yet a Friday night Championship game against West Ham is set to produce the biggest competitive crowd in their history.
There are plenty of things I would change about the London Stadium. I’d move the seats closer to the pitch for a start.
But there is absolutely no denying the scale of it.
West Ham are massive everywhere we go, apparently.
On Friday night, Wrexham are going to find out we’re pretty massive at home too.
I am proud that our club is able to offer really cheap seating to watch football played in an Athletics Stadium
And I agree with the line…… “There are plenty of things I would change about the London Stadium”…. after actually building a football stadium, the next thing I’d do is paint all the seats Claret.
Claret seats would hide the MANY MANY empty seats at every match, like the white seats show up. I’d be very surprised if Newnham Council confirms actual attendances of 59 000 for any of our games, let alone over 62,000 for the Charlton game
Just imagine if we were a reasonably successful football club, evej the full stadium capacity would not suffice!