Sir Geoff Hurst delivers his verdict on West Ham’s Olympic Stadium move

Follow us on Google Discover

West Ham United legend Sir Geoff Hurst has delivered his verdict on the club’s move to the Olympic Stadium.

The Olympic Stadium

The Hammers departed their beloved Boleyn Ground home of 112 years last season and will move to the 60,000 seater stadium in Stratford this month.

An astonishing 52,000 season ticket holders – a new West Ham record and a figure that puts them second only to Manchester United – confirms the club’s fans support the move.

Sir Geoff Hurst

Legend’s opinion carries weight

Hurst is one of the Hammers‘ all-time greats with 180 goals in 411 games for the club.

He was part of the famous West Ham trio along with Martin Peters and Bobby Moore which won the 1966 World Cup for England, Hurst getting a hat-trick in the final.

Sir Geoff Hurst

‘Unbelievable… brilliant… astonishing’

So when he speaks his opinion carries a lot of weight and he told talkSPORT he is excited by the big stadium move.

“For us it’s brilliant, great season last year, 52,000 season tickets we’ve sold, absolutely unbelievable,” Hurst told Alan Brazil’s Sports Breakfast.

“The big issue initially two years ago was whether we were going to fill the stadium.

“We’re now looking to extend it (for a second time from 60,000 to 66,000) before we’ve even kicked a ball there.

“It’s a brilliant time for the club and I think selling 52,000 (season tickets) from an average gate at the Boleyn in the past of 35,000, is astonishing, the way they’ve marketed it is brilliant and giving kids the chance to buy a season ticket for £99, that is developing you new fans, it’s a great move.”

Upton Park

Can it compare to Upton Park?

Some fans feel the fact the pitch is slightly further away from the fans is not conducive to creating a rousing and intimidating atmosphere.

Others think having an extra 25,000 Hammers belting out Bubbles can’t fail to make the atmosphere even better.

Slaven Bilic‘s side will have to go some to better last season’s seventh place finish given the competitive nature of the Premier League and influx of some of the finest managers on the planet.

But with the likes of Norwegian midfield enforcer Havard Nordveit and Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli already signed up and the promise of more exciting signings to come there is no reason why the Hammers can’t kick on… especially with 60,000 fans screaming them on every other week.