West Ham Awaydaze (FA Cup version)
Friday, 3rd Apr 2026 12:19 by Tim Whelan
The first of our two vital games at West Ham United is live on TNT with a 4.30pm kick-off on Sunday. You’ll find the stadium in Stratford in East London, approximately 6 miles to the east of the centre of our capital city.
The London Stadium has been designated as a ‘public transport destination,’ which in other words means that driving all the way is actively discouraged. But if you still want to drive the best bet is to leave the M25 at Junction 27 and take the M11 towards London. At the end of the M11 motorway keep in the left-hand lane and follow the signs for the North Circular A406 (S) (A12, A13).
At the bottom of the flyover where the roads merge, move into the left-hand lane for the A12.At the roundabout take the fourth exit onto the A12 towards Central London and Stratford. Keep straight on the A12 for around four miles At this point you should be able to see the Velodrome building over on your left.
Exit here onto the A106 signposted Stratford and Westfield. At the bottom of the slip road at the traffic lights, take the left-hand filter lane, towards Stratford and Westfield. Continue along this road and you will reach the stadium on the right and the Westfield Centre on the left.
Just before the Westfield Shopping Centre you will reach a set of traffic lights, where you turn left for the Westfield Car Park, A,B & C, which are clearly signposted from this point. This will cost you £10 for a day’s parking, but there isn’t much alternative as there is an extensive Residential Parking Zone around the stadium, which is no doubt strictly enforced.
I’ve scoured Google maps for realistic Park and Ride options, and the best I can spot is Redbridge tube station on the Hainault loop of the central line, which will take you direct to Stratford. This is right next to the roundabout where the North Circular meets the A12 (see above), and if you’re coming down from the M11 you would need to take the second exit and then immediately turn left behind the station, before taking a right into the car park.
Many West Ham fans moaned bitterly when the club moved from their traditional Upton park home, but it has to be said that the London Stadium offers much better options for public transport at the nearby Stratford station, which is the major public transport hub for East London. This benefits Hammers fans as well as away fans, as these days a lot of their support has moved out into the leafier parts of Essex rather than being concentrated in the East End and Docklands.
Stratford is on the main line from Liverpool Street towards Colchester and Southend, as well as being served by two tube lines, the Docklands Light railway, the new Crossrail ‘Elizabeth Line’ and having it’s own bus station. And it’s also on the London Overground at the end of the North London line (now known as the ‘Mildmay Line’, whatever a Midlmay is).
And as added bonus there is also Stratford International Station, which is at the other end of the shopping centre. Despite the name it is only served by Southeastern domestic trains on the high-speed line from St Pancras into Kent, but this service provides the quickest way of getting to the stadium from Kings Cross, as it only takes 7 minutes.
There aren’t many drinking options close to the stadium, as most of the pubs in Stratford are designated as home fans only, though there are a few restaurants in the nearby Westfield Shopping Centre that also serve alcohol, with ‘The Cow’ said to be one that admits away fans. Outside Stratford International Station you can find the ‘Tap East’ which brews its own beers.
Further afield there is always the ‘Hamilton Hall’ Wetherspoons pub on Liverpool Street Station, and near Hackney Wick station there are two bars attached to breweries, the CRATE and the ‘Howling Hops, next door to each other in an old warehouse complex. Another options is the ‘Green Goose in Bow.
The London Stadium was on former industrial land for the 2012 Olympics, at a cost in the region of £537m, and during the games it had a capacity of 80,000. Since then a further £200m has been spent on converting it to a multi-sports venue with a new cantilevered roof. West Ham contributed only £15 million towards this, with Newham Council forking out £40 million and the London Legacy Development Corporation and the British Government paying the rest.
West Ham have taken a 99-year tenancy for the stadium, at a cost of £2.5 million per year, but will not have to fund police, stewarding, heating or pitch maintenance, so the rent doesn’t cover the full cost of staging matches. Inevitably the fans of numerous rival clubs complained bitterly about West Ham being subsidised by so much public money, though it was thought to be essential to guarantee some regular use for the stadium, so it could be preserved and be available for international athletics events.
The preservation of the athletics track has led to the peculiar arrangement where the lower tier of seating is moved forward for football matches, leaving a huge gap in front of the higher tier, which remains in it’s original position, a long way from the pitch. Like most football fans I hate this setup, though I’ve also been to several major athletics events there, and the stadium certainly works well for watching track and field.
At least the view of the pitch is unobstructed from all seats, even though it’s a little distant. Their facilities are pretty good as you would expect from a modern stadium, though before you get inside to sample them you have to pass through airport-level security to get as far as the turnstiles. There are plenty of food outlets, though you’d get better value for money if you visit one of the many takeaways in Stratford before going to the stadium.
There is usually a good selection of alcohol inside, but they don’t serve it at some fixtures, which might include both of ours! The current capacity is 66,513, although licencing regulations currently restrict this to a maximum of 62,500 for football. As it’s a cup tie, we will get the whole stand at the southern end of the stadium, The away section includes part of the upper and lower tiers in the South-West part of the stadium, amounting to 9,000 tickets.
Prices are a mere £15 for adults, but seniors and under 21s at the same price, though under 18s can get in for £6 for concessions. Despite our huge allocation it has completely sold out, and there are no tickets left in the home stands either.
There is always a large police presence after the match, no doubt because there were a number of outbreaks of trouble in the early years due to inadequate segregation. And fans going back to Stratford station are escorted a long way round, to find long queues outside, as everyone tries to get back onto the station at once.
The Club are currently working with their stadium landlords and local authority to see if the number of tickets that can be sold can be increased to 66,000. If they manage to achieve this they would have the largest capacity in London (above Spurs 62,303 and Arsenal’s 60,704) and second in England behind Man U.
But as most Premier League games currently sell out it’s unlikely that any of this increase would be made available to away fans.
Some of this stuff came from www.footballgroundguide.com.
Photo: Action Images via Reuters
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