West Ham United and the Cost of Leaving Upton Park

West Ham United supporters were promised a “world-class team in a world-class stadium” when the club left Upton Park for Stratford in 2016. A decade later, many fans believe the move changed the club forever — and not for the better.

London Stadium

Football Supporters Matter

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a club at the lowest level of the domestic game or a big Premier League outfit. It is not easy being the owner or overseeing the running of a football club. It’s very easy to throw insults and sit in the pub moaning, without really thinking about what it takes to create a successful operation.

However, it is undoubtedly easier if those in such positions tell the truth to fans. Whether it’s an administrative error, the wrong managerial appointment, or the finances being in a state, genuine supporters will accept this if the mistakes are addressed and learned from.

Fans also have their part to play. Rather than having unrealistic expectations, fired by wall-to-wall media coverage, firing the emotions, there are times when they are not nearly fair enough to the ownership or the team manager.

Likewise, there are occasions when those running the show get away with whatever they like by telling the loyal, often lifelong supporters, what they want to hear, to stave off any protests, which is exactly what the fans should be doing.

The Best View at the London Stadium

West Ham United. What's Gone Wrong?

Which brings me very nicely to the plight of West Ham United. Many of their followers think that if they hadn’t been relegated on the final day of the season, then they surely would be in twelve months. The reason? The owners.

Just three years ago, the Hammers lifted the Europa Conference League trophy. Now they face playing second-tier football in the Championship after an amazing fall from grace. 

Star man Declan Rice was sold for £105 million, adding to the finances. Their latest accounts recorded a loss of £104m. This is despite selling out the London Stadium for most home games. An even greater deficit is expected next time. This, along with a loss of TV revenue, which will be softened by parachute payments.

The Much Missed Boleyn Ground

London Stadium Woes

Indeed, a reduction in the amount West Ham must pay to play at the stadium will fall to an estimated saving of £2.5m, offering a benefit of relegation. This is causing concern among those who were hoping that the relegation would lead to a change of ownership.

It’s the stadium that is one of the biggest moans among the Hammers fans. Previously, the club played at the Boleyn Ground in the heart of the East End community. While the ground had its faults, the club had earlier received permission to extend it so that it could remain somewhere steeped in tradition with great memories.

David Sullivan, the late David Gold, and Baroness Karren Brady had taken control of West Ham United in January 2010. Supporters of Birmingham City, where the trio previously had control, warned Hammers fans what was to come, with the departure in the second city generally being welcomed.

The Trek from Stratford Station

Broken Promises

The move in 2016 was far from what they were promised. They were told that their seats were no further from the pitch than at Wembley, and it would be the most successful transition in football club history. 

Of course, by then it was too late. There were no protests when the plans were announced. It was only when the remodelled stadium was open that things became apparent.

After the 2012 London Olympics, the city needed a viable, permanent anchor tenant for the billion-dollar stadium, with the deal being attractive to the West Ham owners. It was subsidised by a heavily discounted 99-year lease agreement with the public London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC). 

Argentina v Croatia at Upton Park in November 2014

My Matchday Experiences

The athletic track remained, meaning the seats were a long way from the pitch. The club put some seating in so that it was square behind the goals. However, it left a huge gap between them and the upper tier at both ends, meaning the atmosphere was lost, while the views were distant.

I have been to the stadium several times, which I cover in this post. I went to the Paralympics, which was a magnificent experience, as it was staging what it had been built for. Likewise, when I attended the World Athletics Championships.

Since the conversion, I have sat in the upper level down the side, which was fine, but upstairs behind the goals is a different story. I sat in the away section as a Hull City fan and still don’t know why a penalty was awarded at the far end, as I was simply too far away. If the WiFi had worked, I might have been provided with an answer.

Happier times at the London Olympic Stadium in 2012

The concourses, fine during the summer for athletics, are cold and windy. The walk from Stratford station, through or around Westfield Mall, is soulless and takes a long time. Especially after games, when crowd control is in place. All a rather different experience from one walking down Green Street at Upton Park.

It is no coincidence that all the German stadiums that hold top-level football that once had tracks around the pitch have now been rebuilt so that they are rectangular in shape, so that supporters are near the pitch. The same is gradually happening in Italy.

Daniel Levy, the executive chairman of Tottenham Hotspur when the Olympics were staged, was interested in purchasing the Stratford site for his club. He wanted to knock down the stadium and start again. He knew.

Demolition of the Academy of Football. December 2016

It's the Fans Who Suffer

The ones who are suffering out of all of this are the fans, who are among some of the best in the country. While they sing about fortune always hiding, I don’t suppose they thought that it would be caused by those who were meant to be the responsible custodians of the club.

West Ham United donated £9,000 of club money to the Conservative Party in September 2022, eight years after Brady was made a Conservative life peer in September 2014. This angered fans, with its conflicts of interest, when a deal was thought to have been trying to be made to own the stadium.

Gold passed away in 2023. Brady resigned in April 2026. Sullivan remains as co-owner with Daniel Křetínský, a Czech billionaire whose company purchased the parent company of the Royal Mail, taking the 500-year-old British postal service into private ownership.

Fur Coats and No Knickers at the London Stadium

Hope for the Future

What West Ham’s future ownership model holds remains to be seen. Most hope Sullivan sells. Many want whoever takes control to build the club a new stadium that is suitable for top-level football rather than what is often referred to as “The Toilet Bowl.”

Most of all, they want experts in charge of running their beloved football club rather than someone who is perceived as someone who does things as cheaply as possible while interfering in football affairs, without having much knowledge. The fans deserve much, much better.

West Ham United’s story, and indeed that of Tottenham Hotspur, a few miles away, is a lesson that sometimes dreams sold by owners need proper scrutiny and just how important it is for fans to stand up, protest, and be united when required. 

Article published 25-5-26