West Ham and the London Stadium landlords, E20, have reached an agreement to increase the capacity of the ground instantly to 60,000 and this will rise in stages until the maximum capacity of 66,000 has been reached.
West Ham revealed the news in an official statement on Monday and the agreement has put a halt to the legal action threatened by the club against E20.
“The arrangement means that, subject to regulatory permissions, the Club will be able to sell up to 60,000 tickets for their games as soon as possible and leaves scope to expand up to 66,000 seats for future matches.”
The increase will see West Ham have the largest stadium in London and the second biggest in the Premier League.
COMMENTARY
This news has split the West Ham fans, with some taking the good news on face value. However, there are others who wonder what the point is when they can’t fill the current capacity of 57,000. The new stadium has been a poisoned chalice for some fans, with the wide pitch border taking away the atmosphere from home games. However, having a capacity of 66,000 will mean a massive boost for the blockbuster games at the London Stadium, and if the club can start producing on the pitch too, it could have a real snowball effect. If you see this as another reason to moan at the board – especially after the money the spent over the summer – then nothing’s going to make you happy until West Ham are a constant in the top six. This could well be a small step towards that.
Here are the best reactions from West Ham fans:
Good news for the club and E20 but will 66,000 want to watch a mid-table club…time to climb up the league and challenge for a European place.
— Martin Johnson Co-director (@EdwardJames) November 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/_AaronD7/status/1064509945440333824
Who cares? We never fill the 57,000 currently on offer. Only the arsenal announcer and Dianne Abbott would give our actual attendance as its current capacity.
— David B.????? (@dpb1964) November 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/BeatTheBatak/status/1064516344262115328
We can't even fill the seats we have, so that just means even more empty seats
— Peter goulding ? (@Goulding1Peter) November 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/JayCorb12568283/status/1064514569421418496
Have to hand it to Karen Brady, she is one tough businesswoman.
— Riley Cullum (@aceofspies64) November 19, 2018
Great news , chance to clear some more off the waiting list, maybe a half season ST after Xmas .
— Dave RedgewellOS2016 (@redgewd) November 19, 2018
https://twitter.com/Giesen12/status/1064519090096750592
— ?????? ?|?????????| ?? ? (@WHUFC_USA_2008) November 19, 2018