The Stadium That Cost a Club its Soul

The Stadium That Cost a Club it’s Soul

Four years on from the London 2012 Olympics, West Ham made a decision which ended up costing a once such historic club its soul, as they continue to drop further down the Premier League table season after season.

In 2016, they decided to move into the Olympic Stadium – now known as the London Stadium – and its impact on the club has been nothing short of emphatic, and not in a good way.

The Deep Cost

1904 was when the Hammers first called their beloved Boleyn Ground their home – and for the next 112 years it became the heart of the club – that was until they moved to the Olympic Stadium, however, which has completely changed the club, losing the heart and prosperity it once had.

It was an awfully deep cost to the club, who had to fork out over £272 million to convert the stadium into their new home, which rose the eventual project cost to £701m according to Sky Sports.

It did come at a cost also in terms of use of the venue and further, long-term cost to the club. From the start of the 2016/17 campaign, it was announced that they would need to pay a contribution sum of £15m as well as a £2.5m in rent paid annually for their 99-year lease.

Further on from that, British Athletics would still have been able to host at least 20 days each year.

Atmosphere Issues

The Boleyn Ground – also known as Upton Park – could host a very homely crowd of around 35,000 spectators, helping to create a lively and passionate atmosphere.

Moving into the Stratford-based venue, however, has seen potential crowds rise to 54,000 – more than the likes of Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge.

Now, the capacity of their stadium is as high as 62,500 – something which they have been able to constantly fill out, ranking them as second place in terms of average capacity per match at 99.9% as of last season according to Transfermarkt, behind only Manchester United.

However, so far this season, this has dropped off tremendously, landing the Hammers in a mediocre seventh for overall spectators.

Many West Ham fans also consider the ground to have a very poor atmosphere, with one fan rating their visit on Tripadvisor as “possibly the worst football ground I have visited.”

Since it was primarily used as an athletics venue, there still remains an athletics track between the stands and the pitch itself, which many believe it causes a detached atmosphere between fans and players.

West Ham are getting relegated.

This was nothing.

The starting 11 was a mess. The substitutions were a mess. I don’t know what that was.

Andy Irving? Full backs on the wrong side? Guido? Long balls to Marshall? Midfield empty.

I’m shocked. There’s no hope here. pic.twitter.com/dd906PbTtA

— Tom Rennie (@thomasjrennie) October 20, 2025

On top of this, West Ham’s disappointing start to the season does not help this at all, with many fans leaving far before the final whistle goes, leaving many seats empty which weren’t before. A lot of many Hammers supporters also believe there is a big difference in reasoning between West Ham’s move from Upton Park and Everton’s switch to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

For example, the Toffees have moved into a glorious, modern, purpose-built footballing venue where fans are so close to the game, they can almost feel it; therefore, making the game even more enjoyable for spectators and a strong engagement from supporters being ever closely linked and attached with the players.

Meanwhile, at West Ham’s London Stadium, fans are much further away from the pitch, lengthening the attachment between players and fans, lowering the atmosphere as a result.

There is no doubt that West Ham’s start to the season has played into things surrounding the poor atmosphere, however, the switch has also infinitely loosened ties between fans and players with supporters simply not feeling as close to the game and team as they once were, costing the club dearly.