Upton Park (stadium)

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Upton Park
Boleyn Ground
Main entrance to Upton Park
Main entrance to Upton Park
Data
place Green Street Upton Park , London E13 9AZ, United Kingdom
United KingdomUnited Kingdom
Coordinates 51 ° 31 '54.9 "  N , 0 ° 2' 21.9"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 31 '54.9 "  N , 0 ° 2' 21.9"  E
owner West Ham United
operator West Ham United
opening 1904
Renovations 1944, 1993, 1995, 2001
demolition September 28, 2016 to spring 2017
surface Natural grass
costs 16 million £
architect Henri Pillipe Tiite Parker
capacity 35,345 seats
playing area 100.58 × 68 m
Events

The Upton Park , actually Boleyn Ground was the football stadium of London's traditional club West Ham United in the quarter Upton Park in the district of Newham . After West Ham United moved to the converted London Stadium in 2016, Upton Park was demolished and building complexes are being built on it.

Construction and origin of name

The stadium was built in 1904 to a design by Henri Pillipe Tiite Parker for £ 16 million after the club had received the property from the "London District of Upton Park" available. There the so-called "Green Street House" was used as a school. This building was also known as Boleyn Castle due to its association with Anne Boleyn who once owned the property . Although the stadium was officially called the Boleyn Ground , it was mostly known as Upton Park .

In the stadium

The stadium was purely a football stadium. It had a total capacity of 35,345 spectators and only offered seats. During the 1990s, Upton Park was rebuilt several times:

The fans of West Ham United took traditionally on the legendary grandstand " Bobby Moore Stand" their place. After a renovation in 1993, this south-facing grandstand held 9,000 spectators and contained exclusive VIP boxes.

The guest trailers sat on the Sir Trevor Brooking stand in the north (centenary stand until July 2009), which after a renovation in 1995 now offered a total of 6,000 spectators. In the upper area was the family block, while the lower area was divided into a guest and a home section. Usually 2,500 to 3,000 places have been reserved for guest fans.

The main stand was called “ Dr. Martens stand ”. After a renovation in 2001, this grandstand now offered seating for 15,000 fans. Here, too, there were exclusive VIP boxes, as well as a hotel that was integrated into the grandstand and from which one could see the entire field of play. It was opened in 2001. The building, inside which there was also a fan shop and a ticket counter, was framed by two large towers, which were modeled on the West Ham United club crest.

The back straight was the so-called "East Stand", which had opened in 1969. There was a large video wall in each of the north-east and south-west corners.

In addition, the West Ham United Museum (construction costs: around four million pounds) was located in the stadium. There were z. B. historical objects, such as the world championship medals from u. a. Geoff Hurst from 1966 issued.

The stadium could be reached via the “ Upton Park ” station of the District and Hammersmith & City Line of the London Underground .

Panorama picture

Upton Park interior (October 4th 2009)

Trivia

On May 10, 2016, West Ham United played their last game at Upton Park after 112 years. The Premier League game against Manchester United in front of 34,662 spectators ended with a 3-2 win for the Hammers . For the 2016/17 season , the club will move into the converted London Olympic Stadium with 60,000 seats. The contract runs for 99 years and West Ham pays £ 2.5m annually to rent the stadium. 50,000 season tickets were sold for the first season in the new home. 842 apartments are to be built on the grounds of Upton Park by 2022. On August 7, 2016, the opening match against Juventus Turin took place in the London Olympic Stadium .

In mid-August 2016, filming for the action film Final Score with Pierce Brosnan , Dave Bautista and Ray Stevenson began in the vacant Upton Park . Parts of the stadium were blown up. In the social networks images were of the devastation posted . West Ham supporters were not very enthusiastic about the pictures and mourn the old venue.

The demolition of West Ham United's old stadium officially began on September 28, 2016. The work was completed in spring 2017.

Web links

Commons : Upton Park  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. theguardian.com: West Ham agree to sell Upton Park after Olympic Stadium move , article from February 10, 2014 (English)
  2. foreverwestham.com: Farewell Upton Park - Hello Olympic Stadium Article from March 29, 2013 (English)
  3. premierleague.com: Premier League Handbook Season 2015/16 - page 41 ( PDF , English)
  4. stadiumdb.com: London: It's the end for Upton Park Article from May 10, 2016 (English)
  5. bbc.com: West Ham's Boleyn Ground farewell: What will become of Upton Park? Article from May 10, 2016
  6. stadiumdb.com: London: WHU and Juventus to open Olympic Stadium Article from April 25, 2016 (English)
  7. newhamrecorder.co.uk: Filming begins as Hollywood stars take over Upton Park Article from August 15, 2016 (English)
  8. stadionwelt.de: Explosions in the Boleyn Ground Article from September 20, 2016
  9. mirror.co.uk: West Ham's former Boleyn Ground is BLOWN UP as part of filming for new Hollywood blockbuster 'Final Score' article from September 20, 2016 (English)
  10. stadiumdb.com: London: Upton Park demolition begins Article from September 29, 2016 (English)
  11. stadiumdb.com: London: Upton Park (almost) gone, here's what's next London: Upton Park demolition begins Article from March 1, 2017 (English)