West Ham played the last ever game at Upton Park on 10 May 2016, a 3-2 win over Manchester United, so it’s now ten years since the Boleyn Ground closed. West Ham have also just been relegated to the Championship, which is where this story starts, because the first West Ham match I ever went to was in the second tier too.
My first game at Upton Park
My earliest memory of Upton Park is going with my dad to watch West Ham play Wrexham in April 1979, in the old Division 2 (now the Championship). It finished 1-1 on 28 April. As I remember it, Wrexham’s keeper Dai Davies was sent off early on, so I was convinced we were going to thrash them. We didn’t! It was a very disappointing draw.
The other thing I remember is where we sat. We were in seats in the main stand, which was unusual, because most fans were still standing on the terraces back then.
The London Stadium
West Ham moved to the London Stadium in 2016. It holds 62,500 for West Ham matches, which is a LOT more than the roughly 35,000 at the Boleyn Ground. I’ve been a few times, and honestly it isn’t the same. It’s much more sterile, and the atmosphere can’t beat the one at Upton Park.
In fairness (and I do try to be fair!) football has changed a lot since 1979, and I don’t think any new ground would have felt like the old one. A stadium built for athletics was never going to have the same feel as a small ground squeezed in among the terraced streets.
Which is better?
If you only care about comfort and being able to get a seat, the London Stadium wins. If you care about noise and being close to the pitch, Upton Park wins, and it isn’t close.
I also wrote about the paper tickets I’ve kept from West Ham matches, if you like that sort of thing. I just wish I’d kept the ticket from that 1-1 draw with Wrexham!