It will be the end of an era in May 2016, as West Ham United prepare to make the big move to the Olympic Stadium, and the club think it will be a good idea to host themed matches during their final season at the Boleyn Ground.
But do the majority of regular visitors to Upton Park think it will be the best way to end their long association with their current ground?
When David Sullivan, David Gold and Karen Brady took over at West Ham United in January 2010, they clearly had a vision where the clubs fans were able to be involved in running some operations in key areas of Upton Park.
To start the ball rolling in May 2011, they launched the supporters advisory board in which fans are enrolled onto the board and are split into four different subgroups – marketing and club products, match day experience, ticketing and the Olympic Stadium.
As we all know, West Ham will be leaving the Boleyn in just over two seasons time and the club seem keen to give their current home the send-off it deserves and want to celebrate by having some themed matches in the 2015/16 season
The club actually kicked this concept off as an experiment for Wednesday’s home match against Hull City.
The game was billed by West Ham as their inaugural ‘Social Media Match’, in which Hammers’ fans were able to leave good luck messages for the team throughout the day via the club’s official Facebook and Twitter feeds, while midfielder Matt Jarvis gave his match day thoughts via his twitter page. Fans were given the opportunity to submit photos, videos and their favourite songs for the half-time playlist.
As yet the board haven’t come up with an idea to be associated with a particular match but the most likely way it will pan out is that matches will be associated with club legends. The club will hope to have more themes organised for the final season as the move to Stratford edges closer.
Many people associated with the club believe that these themes matches will be a fitting tribute as they look forward to what hopefully will be a bright future.
The owners have also stated that they have been allowed to currently name two of the stadium stands after club legends, so they have decided to stick with the names of Bobby Moore and Sir Trevor Brooking but they hope they will be treat the other to stands in the same way but have asked the fans for their suggestions.
On the other hand, could the concept of the matches be a waste of money, it really depends on how much of it they feel it is worth to throw at one idea.
The other concern is would it matter that much to season ticket holders if a selection of the matches are associated with a particular theme. The answer is probably not, because if they want to see the team play then they will buy a season ticket no matter what.
At the end of the day, the club want to consult with the fans but the owners will go through the ideas and see which one is the best fitting to make it an event to remember.
Having seen what goes on with the supporters advisory board, the idea of a selection of themed matches is a great way to celebrate 114 years of life at Upton Park because fans will be able to celebrate the memories of the legendary players they have seen play there over the years, and it will be an ideal chance for fans to reminisce about some of their most treasured memories of the famous old ground.
