Geo and myself recently went on a tour of the London Stadium. As is the way with us, we of course made a video for Hammers Chat. We were even given tickets to giveaway! What a time to be alive.
I was expecting a guided experience based heavily on the Olympics but was pleasantly surprised. They give you a handheld device with all the tour info and let you go on your merry way. No guide, just staff situated at each location if you need them. There are sections about the 2012 Games but the bulk is West Ham-based and you can very easily skip things you aren't interested in.
The staff were brilliant too. Nice and chatty but left us alone at the same time, happy to take photos and help you out or remain in the background.
We both came away really impressed. The whole set up is massive. The changing room is huge, the shower room alone is about the size of the changing room at Upton Park! The tunnel is insanely long, it's a fair walk from the changing room to the touch line. I imagine they lose a good 5 minutes at half time coming off the pitch then back on it, not something I've considered before.
It's a completely different world to Upton Park. I was against the stadium move and have major problems with many aspects of the matchday experience but it's tough not to be impressed by the setup. The wannabe-footballer inside me couldn't help but love being able to walk out of the tunnel. I can only imagine how it would feel on matchday with 60,000 fans singing Bubbles.
We kept the video short and sweet as we didn't want to ruin the tour should anyone go on it. Give it a watch, let us know what you think and find out how to win those tickets!