According to the Football Supporters’ Federation fans of Leyton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are all opposed to a move to the Olympic Stadium. 5,000 West Ham fans have declared their opposition on the internet and 5,000 Spurs fans have signed the ‘We are N17’ petition. For a club with the support base of Leyton Orient, the move does not make sense anyway.
According to the Football Supporters’ Federation fans of Leyton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are all opposed to a move to the Olympic Stadium. 5,000 West Ham fans have declared their opposition on the internet and 5,000 Spurs fans have signed the ‘We are N17’ petition. For a club with the support base of Leyton Orient, the move does not make sense anyway.
One does have to be very cautious about these figures. It is notoriously difficult to get the views of a representative cross-section of fans. Those who populate message boards or phone up radio stations tend to have strong views and be vociferous but are not necessarily representative.
Clubs do have databases of fans, but they are jealously guarded marketing tools and if any surveys are carried out, they are for the club’s own purposes. Even then, the results may not be reliable. My club was ‘shocked’ to find that three per cent of respondents have bought merchandise from street traders outside the ground where it is considerably cheaper. Casual observation suggests that the percentage was much higher than that.
A stadium is an emotional focus for fans. They are often unwilling to leave an old stadium with all its character and history behind, even when the facilities are clearly deficient: for example, Saltergate for Chesterfield and The Dell for Southampton. Both were atmospheric grounds, but clearly unfit for purpose. I recall sitting on a wooden bench at Saltergate.
But then many fans think that modern stadiums all look the same and lack atmosphere. Often it seems that too much capacity is created. Hibernian’s ground at Easter Road has been expanded but it seemed to be far from full for yesterday’s ‘Old Firm’ game.
One could argue that the Boleyn Ground suits West Ham needs, although it is not the easiest ground to get to. The transport links to White Hart Lane are not ideal, but then at any major ground there is bound to be some congestion afterwards. An earlier story on Spurs attracted some strong responses.
My view remains that Haringey Council have not behaved well in relation to the re-development of White Hart Lane. They should regard it as a major asset and try and be more helpful to the club. But local councils are often obstructive. Greenwich Council tried to stop Charlton return to The Valley and only relented when the chair of the planning committee lost his seat at the hands of a Valley Party candidate.
Spurs think they could earn £150m from selling the naming rights of the Olympic Stadium. They could well be right. But the athletics establishment is mobilising against the move.