London Stadium: West Ham United

When West Ham United made the decision to leave Upton Park, their home ground for 112 years, it seemed as though someone also made the decision to start calling it the Boleyn Ground. No one is sure as to why, but there you go. The Hammers departure from a stadium that had opened its doors for the first time back in 1904 was seen as risky but necessary. By that point it was showing its age and the cost of updating it sufficiently was prohibitive. Thankfully there was a state-of-the-art stadium needing new occupants, so West Ham’s owners did their best to make sure that they were the ones that moved in. There was a not insignificant amount of controversy surrounding West Ham’s bidding for the use of The Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, but that’s a tale for another time.

As the name above might suggest, the ground was built as the main venue for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games hosted by London. It was where the track and field events were held, as well as both the opening and closing ceremonies, the former being famously directed by Danny Boyle. Renovations to the stadium took place between 2013 and 2016 in order to prepare it for use by West Ham, as well as for British Athletics to use when the Hammers aren’t playing football. Despite rarely selling out games, West Ham were able to sell all 50,000 of their season tickets in the 57,000 seater ground (as it was) ahead of the 2016-2017 Premier League season.

Stats

London Stadium Stats
Year Opened	2011
Capacity	68013
Average Attendance	62440
Record Attendance	62478 (West Ham vs Leeds (21/05/2023))
Pitch Size	105 x 68 (7140)
Nickname	The Stadium
Former Name	The Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Owner	Greater London Authority
Clubs Hosted	British Athletics, West Ham United
First Fixture	West Ham v Domzale (04/08/2016)

West Ham United Stats
Year Founded	1895
Nickname	The Irons, The Hammers, The Academy Of Football
Club Mascot	Bubbles the Bear and Hammerhead
Rivals	Milwall, Tottenham, Chelsea, Sheffield United
Previous Stadiums	The Boleyn
Kit	Claret & Blue (Home) / Black (Away) / White & Orange (Third)
Training Ground	West Ham United FC Training Ground, Chadwell Heath
Shirt Sponsor	Betway
Team Owner	David Sullivan & David Gold
Record Goalscorer	Vic Watson (326)
Record Appearances	Billy Bonds (804)

London Stadium Photos

London Stadium Seating Plan and Where to Sit

The London Stadium is essentially a bowl of continuous seating, as is typically more common with grounds on the continent. It’s still split up into four distinct stands, however. The Bobby Moore Stand is behind one of the goals and tends to house the most vocal of the club’s supporters. Away fans are situated in the South-West section of the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand, which is behind the opposite goal. The East Stand runs alongside the pitch and was renamed the Billy Bonds stand in 2019 in honour of the man who played for and managed the club for 27 years, whilst the Betway West Stand is considered to be the main stand of the stadium. That’s because it’s where the majority of the corporate seats are located, as well as housing the players’ tunnel and the changing rooms. All four stands are double tiered.

West Ham United Ticket Prices

Pricing for West Ham’s games is a complicated beast. The games are broken into categories AAA, AA, A, B and C, with prices then broken down further depending on where you want to sit (there are 6 bands). Whether you are a member of the supporter’s club or not will further affect the cost. Once that’s been sorted you’ll then find the amount you pay for your ticket differs if you’re an adult, a concession or under-16.

Here are the cheapest and most expensive ticket prices for adults and concessions in each of the different categories, presuming you’re a non-member:

• Category AAA Adult: £55 – £120 / Concession: £55 – £120
• Category AA Adult: £55 – £100 / Concession: £55 – £100
• Category A Adult: £45 – £95 / Concession: £45 – £95
• Category B Adult: £35 – £85 / Concession: £20 – £85
• Category C Adult: £30 – £60 / Concession: £17.50 – £60

Claret members get a £5 discount.

How To Get West Ham United Tickets

As with most clubs nowadays, West Ham favour people buying tickets through the club’s official website. You can also speak to the ticket office over the phone or you can drop in in person. The club wants to sell tickets, so if you want to buy them, and they’re available, there’ll be a way that suits your needs. There are booking fees to be aware of though, annoyingly.

Where to Buy

• Ticket Compare

Getting To London Stadium

London remains one of the easiest places to get to in the country. The capital has always enjoyed a bias that other cities can only be envious of, so heading to The Stadium should be easy enough. Here are some of the different ways you can go about it:

Train – Stratford Station is served by the Jubilee and Central lines of the London Underground as well as the Dockland Light Railway (DLR) and the London Overground. Stratford International is also on the Dockland Light Railway line as well as Southeastern High Speed 1 services. Hackney Wick, which will probably be slightly less busy than the other two options, is on the Overground network.

Bus – There are a huge number of buses that run to the Olympic Park or Stratford. The 388, 308, 339 and D8 will probably take you the closest, but your best bet is to download an app like CityMapper and that will tell you exactly where to go.

Car – You are almost always better off getting public transport than driving in London, but if you’re determined to get in the car then from the North you’ll want to take the M6 onto the M1 then at Junction 6A get onto the M25. Exit that at Junction 27 for the M11 then at Junction 4 take the A406(S). Take the A12 towards Central London/Stratford then the A106 before following the signs.

By Air – London City is the closest airport and will take just under twenty minutes to get to The Stadium by train. Heathrow is around 40 minutes away and Stansted is just under an hour.

Taxi – Getting a taxi from Stratford International to the ground will cost just over £15 and shouldn’t take longer than twenty minutes.

Parking Near London Stadium

There are car parks at The London Stadium, but they’re not cheap. We’d seriously recommend using Just Park or other advance booking if you plan to drive. Even better, don’t drive, use public transport.

• See Available Parking Near London Stadium

Useful Resources

• Parking - Just Park

London Stadium Hotels

London is a huge city with great transport links, but if you want to keep things a bit more local then here are some of the best options:

Pubs and Bars Near London Stadium

Just like with hotels, there are a myriad of options as far as bars are concerned in central London. Here are some of the closest to the ground that you’ll want to consider:

Facilities

All of the usual facilities for buying food and drink are present in The Stadium in the form of 35 catering outlets around the ground. There are also just shy of 1,000 toilets, if you had a curry the night before and are worried about being caught short. Basically, the modernity of the ground means that anything other than a top-notch experience will be something worth complaining about.

Prices

• Programme: £4
• Pie: £5
• Cup of tea: £2.95
• Beer: £6.3

Hospitality

The London Stadium has arguably some of the best hospitality areas in the Premier League – the BM6 lounge is so luxurious that it is invitation only – swit swoo. There are a number of different sections for the rest of us, depending on what you’re hoping to get out of your experience. Here’s a look at some of them:

• The Arnold Hills – Celebrating the history of London’s Docklands, this hospitality experience is perfect if you want a little luxury. With VIP seating, a 3 course ‘a la carte menu and inclusive drinks package, snacks at half time plus appearances from club legends all included. This lounge rival’s some of the area’s best restaurants.
• The Great Briton – This lounge takes a look at sporting greats from the UK as well as from West Ham, hinting to the roots of the stadium during the 2012 Olympics. As well as stunning views of London, you’ll get seats in the West Stand which are yours to take up after you’ve enjoyed a 3 course buffet before kick-off and a few jokes from the room host.
• The Forge – Named in honour of the Thames Ironworks that West Ham rose out of and part of the Premium Dining experience, The Forge is where you’ll see moments of excitement from both the Hammers and Queen Elizabeth Park’s history. You’ll have a private table, a 2 course menu and inclusive drinks package, plus seats on the halfway line in the West Stand.
• The Royal East – A bar and restaurant, The Royal East has amazing views of the pitch from within the lounge itself. You’ll enjoy a three-course buffet meal, VIP seating in the West Stand, a visit from a club legend, and complimentary drinks at half-time. As part of the Platinum Experience this is the best of the best.
• The Boleyn – Named in honour of their former ground, this is a sports bar with more cost effective food and rink options available. However, you still get some nice perks like padded seats, matchday programme, and complimentary half time refreshments.
• The Londoner – Very similar to the Boleyn in terms of extras, but the Londoner has a more family friendly vibe, so is likely to be a calmer place to hang before and after the game.

Private Hire

The London Stadium has a number of excellent rooms and lounges that are used for hospitality packages on a match day. On non-match days, however, they are mostly open to be used by people hoping to hold conferences, meetings and more. The Forge, The Academy, BM6 and The Arnold Hills can all host business meetings with breakout rooms, celebrations or other events that require a suitably fantastic setting. They can accommodate hundreds of people.

Stadium Tours & Museum

Tours of the London Stadium take in the sort of places you’d expect to see behind the scenes at a top-flight football club’s ground. You’ll get to walk down the players’ tunnel, sit in the manager’s seat in the dugout and find the spot where your favourite player gets changed before the game; which sounds a bit odd now that we’ve seen written it down…

Tours run every weekday, from 11am to 3pm, and at weekends from 10am to 3.00pm. On match days the last tour will finish 4 hours before kick off. If you book in advance it’s £20 for adults, £12 for children and £17 for concessions. If you turn up on the day it’s £22 for adults, £13 for kids and £19 for concessions. Maychday tours are £35, £30, and £25.

There are also VIP multimedia tours and Legends Tours that include a Q&A and signed photo with the club legend, but they will cost you between £35 and £45 depending on which you go for.

About West Ham United

West Ham have never won the country’s top division, but they finished 3rd in 1986 and they have won the second-tier division on two occasions. They won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965 and reached the final of the same competition eleven years later, and they won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999. They are also one of only eight clubs to never have fallen below the second tier of English football and have actually spent 58 of their 90 league seasons in the First Division. The Hammers have also won the FA Cup itself on three different occasions and in three consecutive decades. They picked up their first one in 1964, their second in 1975 and they completed the trophy laden hat-trick in 1980. They were also minutes away from picking up a fourth in 2006, only for Steven Gerrard to fire Liverpool back into the game.

West Ham United Football Club was formed in 1895 as Thames Ironworks, not taking their current name until the club was re-formed five years later. They joined the Football League in 1919, gaining promotion to the top-flight just four years later. That was the same year that the Hammers competed in the first ever FA Cup final at the old Wembley Stadium, a game that they went on to lose 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers. They would go on to win the first ever Football League War Cup, however; a competition that was played during the Second World War instead of the FA Cup.

West Ham are extremely proud of the fact that three of their players played an important part in England’s 1966 World Cup win. Bobby Moore captained both his club and the national team, whilst Sir Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters scored both of England’s goals. In more recent times, they made a decision to bring Slaven Bilic, a former player, back to the club as manager and he led the team to numerous firsts, including a victory against Liverpool at Anfield for the first time since The Beatles were top of the charts. He was sacked in 2017 after a string of bad results, but even taking that into account he left with a record of 1.33 points per Premier League game, which is better than any Hammers manager in history.

It was David Moyes though, who helped them to their first trophy in 43 years, when the Hammers went all the way in the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023, beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final. This came after some awful scenes in the semi finals in which AZ Alkmaar Ultras attempted to break into the away fans’ area where many of the player’s families were sitting. West Ham fans ultimately fought the ultras back, and a few of the players even entered the brawl to try and protect their families.

London Stadium History

The history of West Ham at The London Stadium is yet to be written, but that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to say about the place. From the stunning opening ceremony at the 2012 Olympic Games through to the same competition’s, frankly weird, closing ceremony; The Olympic Stadium was the jewel in the crown of London’s hosting of The Greatest Show On Earth.

Preparation for the new stadium began in the middle of 2007, with construction not officially starting until May 2008. It opened in 2011 but didn’t host an official public even until 2012 when the National Lottery organised a celebrity running event that finished at the stadium. There is a retractable set of seating in the lower part of the ground’s seating, which can be rolled forward or backwards depending on whether the ground is going to be used for athletics or football. That is because West Ham, who moved in from the 2016 season, share use of the ground with British Athletics.

Future Developments

When West Ham moved into the stadium at the start of the 2016-2017 season it had a capacity of 54,000. That was increased to 57,000 and a claret coloured pitch surround was installed in 2019 to make it feel more like home for hammers fans. Capacity was increased again in 2021, to 62,500, as West Ham began to target European football.