[RE-POST] I’ve had to repost this because I heard that some server issues prevented some people from voting. The results so far are fascinating and the comments to boot are even better – thank you all for your time. This is important.
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Almost 3 months to this day, Sullivan and Gold gave us their 10-point pledge. The last of these stated:
“Arguably the most important is our commitment to listen to what you have to say. We know we are just the custodians of this club. You who follow us every week whether near or far, are the true owners“
In a statement just last week from our club, SuGo state that they will now be “engagin with West Ham’s loyal supporters” over the Olympic Stadium plans. With just 6 weeks to the closing date for formal bids to adop the stadium post Olympics, havn’t SuGo left it too late? After all, they have yet to discuss the plans with the true owners (that’s us, the supporters, remember?)
Fear not, apparently they have already discussed the move with key sporting and political figures; rugby, cricket and athletic clubs, plus other sporting institutions, Newham Council and the Mayor of London. It transpires that West Ham even have an Olympics Projects Director (Ian Tompkins) and Karren Brady, who has worked on this project from day one of SuGo’s ownership, has said “the club has invested time and money to make sure the Olympic Stadium is the right choice for us….”
I fear that the “true owners” (that’s still the supporters, remember) will never have any effective input or say over the stadium plans. But for the record, I as a supporter (or is that owner?) am interested to know who is for and who is against the Olympic Project as it stands.
Personally I never like sharing my possessions – they always seem to come back worn out, damaged or broken. The thought of a multi-sports ground share, plus the pitch being so distant from the seats that is is easier to watch the game (in between advertising) on “huge video screens” leaves me cold. And for that reason (plus quite a few more)……I’m out.
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I am open-minded to this move, but, would have reservations regarduing the cost and any possible restriction of the fan’s view of the pitch and lack of atmosphere particularly if the stadium is not at full capacity
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Upton Park has outlived it’s usefulness. The area has changed beyond recognition from when most of us started attending games. The transport infrastructure is a joke and for those of us who travel by car the journey and subsequent parking can be a nightmare.
It’s not even as if Upton Park was our original home is it? I am amazed at the strength of opposition to the move frankly. For me it’s a complete no brainer.
The most dangerous phrase in the English language? “We’ve always done it like this”.
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I feel WHU fans have to bow to the inevitable of moving to a bigger better stadium despite my love for UP but one thing i have no doubt about is that the move is conditional on being close to the playing surface.The idea of a running track between me and the surface will not satisfy eyesight as i get older.I’m sure many fans feel this way and i’d like to hear comments from the Directors that dispel my fears.
Mike Austin Season Ticket holder
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I think it must happen unless we want to remain a small club in the premiership. We need to attract more supporters to a stadium that is far easier to access than Uptonpark where there is virtually no room for expansion. I accept that Arsenal have been far more successful than us but their fans accepted it and there is a massive waiting list for season tickets. Man City fans like their new home and the same goes for sunderland/boro etc After all Upton park isnt our birthplace -that was the memorial ground , so for me its a yes but hopefully they can devise a way to cover up the running track during footy season -even if it becomes temporary seating for kids/disabled/OAPS
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Sunderland and Boro may like their ‘homes’ (purpose built stadiums I may add) – but they don’t sell them out. Ever. (Sunderland more so than Boro)
This is a concern for me. What if we were to have the move agreed and then get relegated.
We’d have 20-30’000 in a 60,000 seater. Can you imagine how awful that would feel?
Arsenal welcomed the move – they play Champions League football every year, it was a purpose built stadium and they know they can fill it with 60k
The last thing I would want to happen is us turn into Boro.
Just because a place isn’t your birthplace, doesn’t make it not your home
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
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I think it will be a good move for us to use the Olympic stadium. It will raise our profile and revenue. To a certain point i think better players will be more willing to join when they visit a brand new state of the art stadium and more impressive facilities. It’s not a million miles away from the current ground, and if you look at other teams like Arsenal – it will improve stability all round.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Poorly-rated. Like or Dislike:
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I’m not scaremongering – I’m just raising genuine questions that I think we should all be asking.
Like how far we will we sit from the pitch?
Will we have to watch football over a running track?
Will there be an atmosphere?
What happens if the football isn’t good enough (couldn’t even sell out again Bolton, first game of the season and kids for a quid)
No scaremongering, just legit questions
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Please please stay at umpton park.Who really wants to sit 100 yds behind a running track.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Just filled out the survey and I am more than happy to share what I put in the very last box.
“West Ham United is a football club, the Olympic stadium is not and never will be a football stadium. We don’t need a stadium that holds more than 42000 people and what would we do with one that did seeing as we now have one that holds 35333 and yet we hardly ever get more than 32500 turn up. The future of West Ham United is not dependant on a move to the Olympic stadium, only a decent return on Gold and Sullivans investment would come of it. The future of West Ham United is solely dependant on the team, its performance and the investment in it. Premier League survival is key to our survival (I seem to remember someone saying something like “relegation would catastrophic for the club”) and any future success, not the stadium.
There are teams out there who have had no stadium yet survived (Brighton, Charlton, to name but two) and there are teams out there with modest stadiums yet have had great success (Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, Arsenal whilst at Highbury, mainly through careful, prudent investment, although that can’t be said in Chelsea and Blackburn’s case who just went overboard on recruiting players and I doubt very much whether we’ll see that kind of thing from Gold and Sullivan, not that I’d want success via that route anyway.
We are a club who are privileged to have stadium that still has a soul, a heartbeat and an atmosphere that can put the fear of god in to the opposition. All that would be instantly lost the second we depart Upton Park and will sadly never return. That would be an absolute disaster and I would want no part in it. Half the reason we go to West Ham is the football, the other half in the experience. I get a buzz every time I see the stadium as I approach it on a match day, very much like the 1st time I ever saw it for real, yet I have passed the Olympic stadium a few times and I fail to see that I would ever get that feeling about it.
Many bad things have happened to our club over the past few years and yet I fear the worst is still to come with a move to the Olympic stadium.
On your heads be it!”
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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bigger stadium means bigger over heads,which would mean higher ticket prices,yet again would mean even less people would turn up as i for one wouldn’t be able to attend every home game let alone bring my kids?
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i totally agree, iv,e travelled europe watching football,visiting stadiums , and no matter what ,the atmosphere at some if not all these stadiums is just not consistent with the vibes we get at upton park. home is not home at the olympic stadium
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I thought our original estimate on the fans reactions was pretty accurate.
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This is what i wrote;
“I can fully understand the new owners preference for exploring and pushing forward the idea to move to the OS. But and its a big BUT, the experience for the fans MUST be right. I have been to football grounds with running tracks and the spectacle is awful, this for me is the only key thing that needs to be sorted out. I dont care if the ground is not West Ham branded, or has nice toilets inside, or is in Stratford instead of East Ham. The experience of watching games with a running track inbetween is such a major issue i cant stress it enough. Its a crying shame the UK Olympics body or whoever designed it did not have this discussion before building it, having a stadium like the Stade De France in Paris where athletics and football can co exist would make this move perfect for West Ham. But you have to consider how many fans will hate the experience with a track. Plus one last thing to consider is the key item of capacity, WHU have between 30-35k fans turn up each week, unless the new ticket prices are around 15 pounds i cannot see an increase that would fill anywhere near the rumoured 50-60-80k, we simply would not fill it and make the profits that you’d first think of.”
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Where any of you pro-OS move at the game tonight?
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I am not against the move in itself. It is still West Ham area and a nice area. But I am all against the runnings tracks and “round” stadium!
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i have been a hammers fan since i watched my first game in 1964,and been been to the boleyn on many occasions through all the ups and downs, and oone thing is very apparent, that the time has come regardless of if the fans like it or not for a change.
upton park is a really dirty area now, and will not change any time soon.
the problem with the club is that we cant raise enough revenue through the gates, which means we cant get the players of the right quality to take the club forward, which means we will not be able to get into europe, which means we will not get the players to take us forward [you see the never ending circle]
if we moved to the OS, the two daves should drop the ticket price considerably to try and fill the stadium, it will take time for sure.
eventually with increased revenue we will be able to go after true quality players, and then move the club forward.
this will take time.
i also would like to see the philosophy of the club change as well.
all the talk about playing football the west ham way, annoys me.
the west ham way has won us nothing apart from 4 m ajor cups and numerous flirts with relegation, for once i would like to see us play football someone elses way, in a way that makes us hard to beat, and allows us to win games.
make the move, long term it will make sense
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Love Upton Park and too many memories to mention but a new ground is the way forward. Like others in favour though, it MUST be conditional on removing the running track.
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It would be the most biggest waste of money since we signed dire. We’d have to hire the biggest crane in Europe to take it apart as this is only a temporary structure after all at a cost of 180,000 a week which when it was put together that took a year, there for £9,360,000 just for the crane. Also to bring in the front row seat closer to the pitch we’d have to dig down which as you know the stadium is surrounded by water meaning that what ever pumping system they were to put into place this would have to run 24 hours a day at fu8k knows what cost. I work on the olympic park so have a fair idea as to what i’m on about as i’ve been here as long as it has taken to put the bloody thing up. IN SHORT WASTE OF MONEY
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Much as it pains me to say it, staying at Upton Park we can not compete with the bigboys of the footballing world.. but saying that, i dont feel we should go to a stadium we wont have full control over.
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The atmosphere at Upton pk last Saturday against Spurs was just fantastic, with all sections of the stadium giving the place a real buzz… “even the upper east-stand were doing there bit”….The Place just oozes with Passion, Real East end history & tradition…. Pie & Mash right on the door step & many decent east end boozers around the ground…. If we move to the Olympic stadium the heart of our club would be ripped out forever
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