It is no secret that West Ham have had a torrid time of it since moving to London Stadium.
The football has improved in recent seasons, especially under David Moyes, but for a good three or four years after the move the club struggled to adapt to life in their new home.
While things on the pitch appear to now be heading in the right direction, this season aside, obviously, fans still continue to complain about the overall matchday experience in Stratford, including the atmosphere.
The fact is it isn’t a purpose-built football stadium, which means it doesn’t have the same acoustics as other grounds when fans start signing. That’s not to say it can’t whip up a good atmosphere, because it has on many occasions since the move in 2016, but it’s alot harder to do at London Stadium.
Fans would indeed prefer to see a brand new stadium built in its place, which would go some way in healing the wounds left by the heartbreaking move away from Upton Park.
But that’s so far off from becoming a reality at this point that it could almost pass as fantasy.
That view is shared by football finance expert Stefan Borson, who has explained to Football Insider that it would cost a lot of money to rebuild the stadium, more than West Ham could afford, anyway.
He said: “I think there is zero chance West Ham will leave the London Stadium and nor should they.
“I have been a number of times as an away fan and I didn’t think it was as bad as people made out for atmosphere, but maybe it sounds different in the home end.
“You would have to spend £1-1.5billion to get a stadium that was better.
“It’s just not going to happen. I think it’s a crazy concept. I would be very expensive to redevelop at the London Stadium.”
West Ham need London Stadium naming rights
It has been something of a mystery that the London Stadium still hasn’t attracted a big enough naming rights sponsor, 13 years after it was build for the London 2012 Olympics and over nine years since West Ham move in to make it a Premier League arena.
It’s location, symbolic nature and current standing as the home of a club playing in the most watched league in the world means it should be seen as a lucrative sponsorship opportunity for a brand looking to align themselves with such a historic venue.
But that just hasn’t happened yet.
With the stadium still being government owned, it’s still unclear how much West Ham would benefit financially from the stadium being sponsored but surely it would be an attractive option to government given the losses it’s racked up over the years.
In 2023, the stadium cost taxpayers almost £21m.
Regardless, Borson believes naming rights could be a vital part in helping the stadium feel more like a football ground.
“Maybe if they [West Ham] could get a proper naming rights deal that could transform it,” he said.
“But I think a material change or moveable stands, which I think were originally planned in the mix, that of thing feels very expensive.”
