Stadium tour

An archive of news, events and discussion leading up to and post West Ham United's historic move from Upton Park to Stratford in 2016.

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CMNinja
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Stadium tour

Post by CMNinja »

Wasn't sure whether to post this here or The Snug.

My wife, our little one and I just got back from a night in the hotel and a stadium tour (it was an excellent present from Mrs Ninja). I won't give a full review but a couple of points:

The tour was brilliant. It was fantastic to see everything from the Chairman's Lounge to the changing rooms and to head out thru the tunnel. The bloke leading the tour is a lifelong Hammer who has been professionally involved with the club for what must be at least 20 years. He's spent a lot of time around managers and players (including match days) and shares some interesting bits of trivia - and makes a lot of jokes about Andy Carrol being injured. The photo opportunities are plentiful and they're happy for you to just snap away.

Staying in the hotel and getting the tour, you can see that the OS is really going to change the way the club is perceived. The place is very, very tired. There is nothing fancy. In the press room there is a huge plastic tub of VHS tapes just sat on the floor. VHS! The players' break room is not quite as good as a call centre staff room. That's not to say any of this is bad, it will just be step up in facilities and I imagine the squad might be grateful for it.

Like everything else, the hotel is tired and, weirdly, smelled a lot like boiled potatoes. However, as a supporter, having that view over the pitch at night and in the morning is incredible and it is thus a fine place for romance.

Everyone we encountered working there was really nice and very enthusiastic about West Ham. I can't imagine they'll all get to carry over to the OS and that is one of the real shames about the move.

All in all, we had a great time. The whole experience was much like everything else about the club - a bit haphazard but all the more enjoyable for it. If, like me, you don't get to spend much time at the Boleyn or in the company of other Hammers, it's absolutely worth doing the tour.
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