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The Times- West Ham open to sharing Olympic Stadium

Lilbaz

Just call me Baz
Apr 1, 2005
41,363
74,893
Where the government over paid by millions for real Madrid's training ground to give the money?!?!

Gave them and barca charitable status so they don't have to pay taxes, built bilbao a new stadium that they only pay €500k a year rent. Are building atletico a new stadium, let off most of their clubs for non payment of taxes for years etc...
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
Gave them and barca charitable status so they don't have to pay taxes, built bilbao a new stadium that they only pay €500k a year rent. Are building atletico a new stadium, let off most of their clubs for non payment of taxes for years etc...

Yep. Ath Madrid owe a crazy amount of tax. They're the worst offenders I think.
 

tottenmal

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2013
801
2,082
Inside their stadium when its finished. Those gaps at the end like.
I understand its fan's that make the atmosphere, European stadiums show us that. But that below is just ridiculous.
FAFC5C10-ABC6-4747-9B34-EBD13EEFFAAA_zpswsrciwhx.jpg
 

SugarRay

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2011
7,984
11,110
And that image is from a 'flattering' angle you would have thought! Certainly doesn't show the big gaps between the temporary bottom tier and the upper tier. I've said it a million times, it's going to be awful for football. Real mishmash and the actual structure is simply far too big.
 

Lilbaz

Just call me Baz
Apr 1, 2005
41,363
74,893
And that image is from a 'flattering' angle you would have thought! Certainly doesn't show the big gaps between the temporary bottom tier and the upper tier. I've said it a million times, it's going to be awful for football. Real mishmash and the actual structure is simply far too big.

It's from the bottom tier. Just imagine how bad the view from the top tier will be.
They also have to add the dug outs which will block the views of a good few.
 

whitesocks

The past means nothing. This is a message for life
Jan 16, 2014
4,652
5,738
There were terrible views at wembley, but no-one seemed to mind.
It was about being there and the atmosphere as much as anything.
If Wham/the tax payer set up a number of large screens up in the roof amongst the triangles,
then fans will have a better view with replays than most fans have had in the last 100 years.
I think fans will be happy enough, especially at subsidised prices.
And they'll fill it up as people will get a buzz from visiting the Olympic stadium.

As long as Wham are sensible and save the windfall on the sale of Upton Pk
and the year on year excessive profits, then in 20 years or so when everyone has forgotten how much was spent on the stadium, they can buy the ground back at a commercial rate and redevelop stands or not based on economics, rather than Borisnomics. What a nightmare.

The only hope is that they will not be sensible and with the stadium owners unable to afford to pay the increasing maintenance on a large complex stadium, without a fair return, you have to wonder if the area will be redeveloped into expensive flats sooner rather than later, and Wham sent packing. Hurrah.
 

Dillspur

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2004
3,747
9,926
But are the owners reinvesting the cash from the sale of Upton park back into the club?
 

philip

Well-Known Member
Jan 4, 2009
1,347
2,490
I'm getting really worried about West Ham.

I know that the 50000 season tickets is because they're giving them away to kids and at ridiculous prices. But they know that they need to fill the ground or it'll look ridiculous and this is their way of doing that. Meanwhile they'll be strengthening their fan base with young fans.

They also know that with few if any corporate facilities, the only way they can make any money is by selling more seats. They already intend opening the seats in the far reaches currently supposed to be off limits and they could easily put in filler stands between the two tiers like they did on one side. They could be filling a 67-70000 seater stadium without any real gaps!

Yes it'll still be an athletics stadium. Yes, the tiers are very gradual. Yes the top tier is miles away from the action. Yes they will only fill it cos tickets are cheap.

But to an investor, all they'll see is a massive Olympic Stadium with the greatest capacity of any football stadium in London, full every week, with great transport links, right next to the City etc.

West Ham would be the ideal club for a super billionaire to target.
 

Colonel_Klinck

Well-Known Member
May 19, 2004
12,637
23,217
They have to get 60-67k fans in the first though. Just because seats are cheap doesn't mean people will go. I'm not convinced they'll sell out what they have in 2017-18. Unless they give even more tickets away that is. Would schools really take kids to footy games? That has massive risk assessment written all over it.
 

philip

Well-Known Member
Jan 4, 2009
1,347
2,490
They have to get 60-67k fans in the first though. Just because seats are cheap doesn't mean people will go. I'm not convinced they'll sell out what they have in 2017-18. Unless they give even more tickets away that is. Would schools really take kids to footy games? That has massive risk assessment written all over it.
That they've sold 52000 cheap season tickets shows that people will come if it's cheap enough. Even if a fair few are tourists, the place will be full
 

Dillspur

Well-Known Member
May 18, 2004
3,747
9,926
That they've sold 52000 cheap season tickets shows that people will come if it's cheap enough. Even if a fair few are tourists, the place will be full

And once those people realize they can't see any real action, will they bother renewing? Will they bother turning up for WBA or any other dull midweek games? They might technically have "sell outs" but will they have bums on seats?

Realistically they were always going to sell a lot of season tickets the first season, the real test will be next year.
 

sundanceyid10

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2013
3,379
8,319
That they've sold 52000 cheap season tickets shows that people will come if it's cheap enough. Even if a fair few are tourists, the place will be full
If you move to a bigger stadium with the aim of increasing revenue, but just end up selling dirt cheap tickets it seems a bit pointless.
 

philip

Well-Known Member
Jan 4, 2009
1,347
2,490
If you move to a bigger stadium with the aim of increasing revenue, but just end up selling dirt cheap tickets it seems a bit pointless.
Depends what your aim is. If your aim is to recoup your investment by selling the old ground, and then make the club look enticing for an investor by filling a well placed high profile stadium, it's perfect.
 

Krafty

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2004
4,768
2,099
They will get big attendances as its new, cheap, interesting, then that will wear off and unless they have success attendances will decline and they will not be able to drop prices to attract new people in.

If they get 70k good for them, but that stadium will not be a good place to watch football and the lack of corporate units will make it hard to attract investors and corporate clients - that's where more of the money comes from, so I am pretty relaxed about it. Our stadium will just be better, simple as.
 

Dougal

Staff
Jun 4, 2004
60,344
129,918
Can you imagine how it'll be when they sit in that stadium in a couple of years thinking, 'actually, it's a bit shit here', while Upton Park lies in rubble? Be careful what you wish for.
 

Phischy

The Spursy One
Feb 29, 2004
1,000
1,152
The best example of a comparable stadium is the Stadio delle Alpi which really did Juve no favours. They moved in in 1990 and it was a football and athletics stadium able to seat a little under 70,000 (later reduced to 67k), an enormous great bowl (with a roof). They were gone by 2006 to a smaller much more compact stadium.

The stadium was regularly more than half empty, the atmosphere was poor and people didn't want to come because there was a poor view for football and it was windy and cold. The running track also did Juve no favours although West Ham have largely combated that issue with the moving lower tier, but fans in the top tier will really be quite some distance away.

The parallels are uncanny, except for the fact Juve have far more tradition and success than West Ham.

They've done the right thing with pricing, they really struggled to fill Upton Park, but unless they get some real and quite substantial success in the near future people simply won't want to go there to watch football. They are paying a low rent, so the business case is sound and allows them to price at a level which would be suicidal for many clubs, but even low prices won't save them if the footie is crap and it's unpleasant to sit and watch it.

We won't really know how it works out for a good 10 years, but I remain utterly convinced that a stadium which is not designed for atmosphere, where fans are miles from the pitch and where many of whom are only there because it's a cheap way to see football (as opposed to being West Ham fans), will not provide either the financial edge or swell of support that the fans seem to think it will. If they do up it to 70k, after a couple of years it will fail to sell out so often that they will look stupid. Better to at least appear in demand.

I am sure West Ham will pick up more fans through kids being able to go to games, hell, I might even go up there and watch one if it's that cheap, but I'd choose to be doing what we're doing every time.
 

Hoopspur

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Jun 28, 2012
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London is one of the great cities of the World and the EPL is possibly the most competitive/greatest tournament. West Ham with the correct marketing could sell themselves as the (only?) place in London for tourists to see football.

Juve don't have this advantage - they have a relatively poor championship in a decent enough place but no world beater. People don't go to Rome to see Lazio or Roma. The earlier poster who suggested the transport links and the proximity to the City/Canary Wharf is dead right in my opinion. Ripe for investment. Drop off the wife in the shopping area for a couple of hours and go and see football - that's if there are any tickets left!
 

dave5150

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2011
766
3,748
London is one of the great cities of the World and the EPL is possibly the most competitive/greatest tournament. West Ham with the correct marketing could sell themselves as the (only?) place in London for tourists to see football.

Juve don't have this advantage - they have a relatively poor championship in a decent enough place but no world beater. People don't go to Rome to see Lazio or Roma. The earlier poster who suggested the transport links and the proximity to the City/Canary Wharf is dead right in my opinion. Ripe for investment. Drop off the wife in the shopping area for a couple of hours and go and see football - that's if there are any tickets left!

Exactly.
I'm guessing their approach will partly be "when in London, come and see West Ham play the team you support without having to go to Manchester - ps. kids for a quid!"
 
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