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West Ham United edge closer to London Stadium ownership with £10m investment
West Ham United have made an important step forward in gaining full ownership of the London Stadium, according to Claret and Hugh.
There are already plans for the West Stand at the site of the London 2012 Olympics to be brought closer to the pitch to help improve the atmosphere and experience for supporters in that part of the ground.
The work is due to start near the end of June and the capacity will be increased by 1,800 seats as a result, taking the overall size of the ground to 62,500.
Crucially, the Hammers are going to invest £10million fo the club’s pockets to make the work happen, with two instalments of £5million over the next two years.
This move will take their involvement beyond the embarrassment clause deadline of March 2023 which could then open the door for the Irons to take full control of the London Stadium and transform it into a more suitable footballing arena with UK athletics potentially heading to Birmingham.
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The biggest issue with playing football in an athletics arena has always been the huge distance between the fans and the action on the pitch.
It is perhaps the only complaint any West Ham fan can have about our relatively new ground, especially when compared to the purpose-built Boleyn Ground that was the intimidating fortress no Premier League team wanted to visit.
Everything else is bigger, better and more modern and once we get the stands brought closer to the action, we can properly build that cauldron-like atmosphere back up again and take us to yet another level above.
It all hangs on us making sure that we do eventually get both hands on the paperwork so we can do whatever we like to the ground to make it as ideal as possible.
There is no doubt that the size and reputation of the stadium has helped us bring in players we perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have been able to at Upton Park but the best is yet to come.
In other West Ham news, one of our most sought-after young players is expected to remain an Iron for another 12 months at least despite rumoured Premier League interest.
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