London Stadium- West Ham

Jackinky

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How Easy Was The Ground to Get To (from the station, by car, etc):

It's very easy to get there as Stratford is easily served by many stations. We're still trying to find the quickest route as there are so many possibilities. I'd definitely advise going by train rather than car as parking is very slim around the stadium unless you choose to park at Westfield. One other thing I'd advise is if you're getting to the ground by the Overground line then it's easiest to get off at Hackney Wick(which is the station before Stratford) and walking from there. Overall, it's probably the easiest ground to get to out of anywhere.

If Applicable, How is Parking Near The Ground:

As mentioned above I quite simply wouldn't advise trying to park at the ground unless you absolutely have to.


Based on Where You Were Sat, How Was the View?

From our seats the view is excellent, however, we're at the front of the upper tier so I imagine it's not so good from the back. For away fans it's probably best to choose the lower tier rather than upper as there's a large gap between the two tiers. The gap between the pitch and stand doesn't feel to be overwhelmingly large as I feared it would be beforehand.

How Were The Stewards on The Day?

I've been three times now and each time there's been arguing between fans and stewards about standing up which has less to a couple of people being kicked out so as of yet they've not been good.


Was The Atmosphere At The Ground, From Both Sets of Supporters? Does the Stadium Hold the Noise?

It's not been bad so far but then again not amazing, however, I think this is due to everyone being in different places so I'm sure it'll get better over time.


How Are the Pubs and Local Attractions in The Local Area?

There are many pubs around the area with one especially good pub down by the canal which serves lots of food and drinks right by the canal, however, they don't let away fans in. I'm not completely sure which pubs let away fans in at the moment but as long as you don't wear colours you should be able to get in anywhere.



Overall Score Out of 10? I'd probably give it an 8 for now with its main pluses being the location, views and look of the ground from the outside, however, it's the exact opposite of what Upton Park was which is tough to get used to.




 

Leo

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There are some grounds throughout the country that I associate with the home team having a distinct advantage and Upton park was one of them. Always enjoyed watching West Ham v Whoever (on tv) as it normally was an entertaining game for the neutral and had a great atmosphere. I watched the West Ham v Hull game at the new stadium (on the telly) and the ground/stadium/pitch just wasn't West Ham to me.
 

Jackinky

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There are some grounds throughout the country that I associate with the home team having a distinct advantage and Upton park was one of them. Always enjoyed watching West Ham v Whoever (on tv) as it normally was an entertaining game for the neutral and had a great atmosphere. I watched the West Ham v Hull game at the new stadium (on the telly) and the ground/stadium/pitch just wasn't West Ham to me.

That's probably because we haven't played Hull yet this season....

But yeh I do agree, the atmosphere and feel is completely opposite to how it was at Upton Park and is very hard to get used to. I think it's partly to do with people being split up from where they were before so standing areas and singing sections aren't really there yet, hopefully it'll improve over time though.
 

Leo

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That's probably because we haven't played Hull yet this season....

But yeh I do agree, the atmosphere and feel is completely opposite to how it was at Upton Park and is very hard to get used to. I think it's partly to do with people being split up from where they were before so standing areas and singing sections aren't really there yet, hopefully it'll improve over time though.

Duh....Bournemouth...apologies.
 

rudebwoyben

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Hackney Wick station is just as near to the stadium as Stratford and there are some interesting places to eat, drink and party there!
It's also a very easy stadium to cycle to.
 

Anon

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Only been the once but didn't have anywhere near as positive a view. The various transport links are great, but in terms of getting to Stratford station there and back it still takes a while, especially if there's crowd control in place, quite possibly just as long as it took to walk to Plaistow or East Ham from Upton Park after the game. Links are better but overall didn't save me any time compared to UP.

Given I came into and went from Stratford, I thought the pub choices were non-existent. Like, literally not one place to visit as you come out the Stratford tube and walk around to the right. Even when you then walk around the back of Westfield where the chain bars are, it's all sectioned off to prevent fans going in them. Felt very much like being shuttled in and out of the game, and the only opportunity to pick up food was from the named/branded but vastly overpriced vans/demountables - made me yearn for the dirty burger vans of old as at least you weren't ripped off. Seems to really vary depending on what station you come into tbh - next time will try Hackney Wick for sure.

I thought the atmosphere in the ground was ok, but bear in mind it's early season, there's the wanting to make it loud, and we're coming off our best year in many years. Next season will be a good barometer for years to come; assuming we don't massively over-perform and get CL football, the one-season season ticket holders might take a step back, prices might rise and it'll no longer be a new ground novelty. I hope it'll be alright but I have my doubts.

I sat (or stood...) in the (new) Bobby lower over to one side, about 25 rows up. I agree the stand isn't quite as far away as I feared, but I certainly wouldn't want to sit anywhere else in the ground as at least on the side of an end you're about the closest to the pitch as you can get since the oval curves around.
 

Super_horns

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Was in the Lower Tier so had a decent view but the top tier looked a nightmare!

Not much around the ground so went to Hackney Wick.

We've all heard about the stewards and atmosphere!

West Ham fans were loud for the first 35 mins then ofcourse it turned nasty.
 

AnimoEtFide

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Someone in a comment in that article made the comparison with Juventus, who got given a big soulless bowl of a stadium after Italia 90 which at the time was sold as a huge coup for the club, but ended up being such a disaster they built a proper ground 16 years later. Although I guess the situation with West Ham is different. So long as they are serving up Premier League football in a reasonably accessible London stadium they'll continue to make a shed load of money irrespective of the actual merits of the experience. Gold and Sullivan could personally shit in every Bovril and tickets would continue to sell.
 

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See, I'm not sure people will just keep going. For sure there are a lot of people who are going because it's the first season and a considerable number of tickets are cheaper. I always said the real test was next season unless we finish 4th or something. It's not like we had 20k extra fans on waiting lists or the like.

Chuck in yet another incident - which has been building through previous games this season - and it would not surprise me at all to see attendances scale back to the early 40s next season.
 

Football Purist

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Hackney Wick station is just as near to the stadium as Stratford and there are some interesting places to eat, drink and party there!
It's also a very easy stadium to cycle to.
Not if you're cycling from Inverness.
 

mistermagic

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There are only 2 London FL grounds I haven't done and that's AFC Wimbledon and Tottenham Hotspur. I suppose I'll swing by this soulless concrete mess of a stadium when I get the chance (got quite a few mates living in London) but can't say I'm looking forward to it. I loved Upton Park. My favourite London ground by a considerable margin. I used to invite mates from school take the eurostar to watch them play an FA Cup 3rd round game. Now look at them. Such a big fucking shame.
 

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My only experience of the current stadium was from the Olympics in 2012 - brilliant, and as a steward for West Ham - soulless.

If you need to drive, you could do worse than register with Westfields. £6.70 for 24 hours (last time I checked a couple of months back) or £5.00 if registered. It works on NPR and charges direct from your account. If I stewarded there again (which I won't) I'd definitely use Westfields.
 

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There are only 2 London FL grounds I haven't done and that's AFC Wimbledon and Tottenham Hotspur.

Our ground was a purpose built Conference ground back in 1989. It's not suitable for the Football league and the only reason we've got away with it for so long is because we have advanced plans for a new ground. Having said that, you'll get a friendly welcome unless you're a Franchise sympathiser.
 

rudebwoyben

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Our ground was a purpose built Conference ground back in 1989. It's not suitable for the Football league and the only reason we've got away with it for so long is because we have advanced plans for a new ground. Having said that, you'll get a friendly welcome unless you're a Franchise sympathiser.

One of the terraces behind the goal used to have an electricity substation right behind the goal before the terrace was covered and enlarged (and then eventually converted to a seated stand).
 

Jackinky

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Now we've been there for a season and a half its becoming gradually better. There's established singing areas- Bobby Moore lower and the block to the left of the away fans- this helps the atmosphere somewhat although it can be hit and miss. Yes, the distance between the stands and the pitch is big, especially from the top of the two tiers behind each end, but like other things it's beginning to feel slightly better. as you get used to it.

No, of course its nothing like Upton Park and I'd love still to be there but we have to move on; hopefully it will begin to feel more like a football ground the more we play there.
 

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