West Ham’s Olympic Stadium Sells out over 50,000 Season Tickets

With more than 50,000 season tickets already sold to supporters, West Ham’s Olympic Stadium proves to be an instant success.

(Image credit: WHUFC)

Starting from next season, West Ham will play at London’s Olympic Stadium and in doing so will wave goodbye to their 112-year stay at the iconic Boleyn Ground. The club released an official statement about West Ham’s Olympic Stadium move: “As a result of the unprecedented demand, West Ham will now boast the highest number of season ticket holders in London, and the highest percentage of season ticket holders in the whole of Premier League.”

In efforts to maximize earnings and accommodate a great deal of supporters, the club’s hierarchy announced in March they would be adding 6,000 more seats to West Ham’s Olympic Stadium. This expansion saw the stadium’s capacity increase to a whopping 60,000, making it the eighth biggest stadium by capacity in the United Kingdom.

“The club’s increase in capacity from 35,000 at the Boleyn Ground to 60,000 at the former Olympic Stadium also makes it the biggest and most successful stadium move in Britain in the modern era,” the club’s statement read.

Club manager Slaven Bilic gave his views on West Ham’s Olympic Stadium move, by saying the new ground won’t be able to replicate the “hostile atmosphere” that Boleyn Ground has enjoyed. “You need to have a hostile atmosphere, be intimidating for away teams. Forget about it – no chance,” the 47-year-old Croatian said. “When you played Arsenal at Highbury, it wasn’t dangerous but you felt it. Then we played against them at the Emirates and we enjoyed it; the players were taking selfies.”

Despite the fact that West Ham’s Olympic Stadium offers all the amenities a modern ground is expected to have, Bilic stressed that the first home is always the most favourite. “The Upton Park stadium was a first home. No matter where you move after that – if you move to a fancy apartment, a big house or to a mansion – your favourite one is always the first,” Bilic said. “You are losing something because it is impossible to make West Ham’s Olympic Stadium a fortress.”

The West Ham boss is fully focused on tonight’s game against Manchester United in what is looking to be a great final match played at Boleyn Ground. Online sportsbook Betway ranks them as underdogs for the game 2.90 (19/10), but Slaven Bilic’s men have surprised on a number of occasions against big sides this season, so they might be worth the bet.

(For more info about the online sportsbook, check out our Betway Sports Review.)

Manchester United are the favourites to win 2.37 (11/8), however this may not be the safest bet. They’ve had a tumultuous season that has seen them so far claim only 63 points, granting them 5th position on the table. A tie 3.50 (5/2) for this game is also likely, but we believe that West Ham will probably have the spirit to clinch one final victory at Upton Park.