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West Ham's stadium move has been a mixed success

Moving into a new stadium involves some risk for a club, but often a necessary one. Southampton could not have stayed at The Dell and maintained a solid presence in the Premier League. The Emirates may be less atmospheric than Highbury, and its cost may have held the club back for a while, but it generates much needed revenue for Arsenal. The problem at Sunderland and Middlesbrough is not the new stadiums, but the football played within them. Everton's failure to move away from the faded charms of Goodison Park has held them back. Liverpool decided to rebuild Anfield rather than move to Stanley Park, but their stadium is a very special place.

Manchester City's revival was helped by the move from the down market surroundings of Maine Road to the splendour of the City of Manchester Stadium, all at a very reasonable price. No doubt West Ham thought they could repeat the trick when they moved to the London Stadium in a deal which has been criticised for the level of taxpayer subsidy involved.

However, this move has not worked out quite as was hoped. The team has not moved up to a new competitive level and many fans remain dissatisfied. They feel that their new stadium is soulless in contrast to the Boleyn Ground at Upton Park. Fans face a long and boring walk from the various stations serving the stadium.

Paul Christmas, chairman of the West Ham United Independent Supporters' Association, told The Times, 'We are tenants in a semi-converted athletics stadium while our London rivals have or will have state-of-the-art purpose-built football stadiums.' Retractable seating across the athletics track was promised, but never arrived. Spurs and Chelsea are building new stadiums at their original grounds.

Admittedly, fans have shown their loyalty to the club by buying up the 52,000 season tickets on offer. There is some anecdotal evidence that new fans have been attracted with good transport links into Kent which is something of a football desert. Even so, the new stadium lacks the charged atmosphere of the Boleyn.

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