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The Olympic Stadium – We DON’T want it.

It has been announced that F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone plans to turn the nearly £500m Olympic Stadium into part of a proposed F1 track in London. That means there are four separate bids for the stadium: Ours, Orients, UCFB College of Football Business, and now F1. All I have to say is thank god! 

Allow me to be blunt: The further we are from getting the Olympic Stadium the better I feel, and the better I feel the club’s future is. I’ve never understood the desire to move to a place that will never feel like a home, was never meant to host football, and simply doesn’t fit a club like West Ham United.

It’s been written about before, but athletic tracks are for track stars and Italians.  One of our biggest assets as a club is our home advantage (which we have finally started to make use of again), and the vast majority of that stems from the best fans in the world.  But Upton Park is conducive to the loud fans who frequent the ground by having the crowd as close to the action as possible.  Imagine if that crowd was, say 50 meters further away.

Then imagine the view from the “corners” of the circular stadium.  See what I’m saying?  The aesthetics from the outside are fine, as many modern football stadiums are more architecturally creative and sleeker than their older, more traditional counterparts.  But the new stadiums are built for football.  Allianz Arena is ultra-modern, yet incredibly loud for Bayern Munich.  The Olympic Stadium is not built for football, and will never achieve the same kind of atmosphere found at the Boleyn Ground.

Can you look at the Olympic Stadium and say “this is where I come to watch West Ham” with pride?  No, because it is not West Ham’s and will never feel like ours.  This proposed move would be like moving from your slightly aging, smaller but cozy bachelor pad to your girlfriend’s airy, drafty, uninviting loft.  It just isn’t the same.  You won’t be happy.  You’ll long for your old place with your buddies, your table top football, your beer fridge, and your toilet seat left up.

Also, no one has really made much of a bone about this, but usually the way it works is clubs enter a period of competitive and financial stability before they choose to renovate or build a new ground.  West Ham is just getting back in the Premier League, and has a long way to go to ensuring its stability for the long term future.  I think taking a step back and remaining patient is what is needed here.  I would be all for renovations or additions to Upton Park so that more fans could see their club and all, but there’s no reason to put the cart before the horse.

Let’s wait until we are stable, both in our position in the league and financially, before making a move to a bigger ground (built for football).  At least then it will feel earned and owned.