Boleyn Ground

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Boleyn Ground
Upton Park
Location	London, England
Opened	1904
Owner	West Ham United
Operator	West Ham United
Tenants
West Ham United F.C.
Capacity
35,600

The Boleyn Ground is the official name of Upton Park, the soccer stadium of West Ham United.

1 History
2 West Ham United Museum
3 Stadium Hotel
4 Details
5 External link

[edit] History

The club moved to the location in 1904 and rented ground from the London District of Upton Park who were using Green Street House as a school. Green Street House was known locally as Boleyn Castle because of its imposing nature and an association with Anne Boleyn (she had either stayed at, or some believe, owned the house). Hence renting the grounds of "Boleyn Castle" the name Boleyn Ground came into being. Today the ground is more often called Upton Park after the area of London in which it is located.

The stadium has a total capacity of 35,647 all seated. The stadium was subject to considerable redevelopment during the 1990s:

1993: South Terrace replaced by a new 9,000 seat, two tier stand named after Bobby Moore. The stand also incorporates executive boxes.
1995: North Terrace replaced by a new 6,000 seat, two tier stand named the 'Centenary Stand'. The East Lower terrace (the 'Chicken Run') made all seater.
2001: West Stand replaced by a new 15,000 seat, two tier stand named the 'Dr. Martens Stand'. The stand also incorporates executive boxes on two levels.

Plans have been submitted to increase the capacity to approximately 45,500 through replacement of the East Stand. This will result in a fully enclosed stadium by joining the new stand to the Centenary Stand and the Bobby Moore stand. Relegation to the Football League Championship in 2003 resulted in the development being delayed. However promotion to the FA Premier League via the Play-offs in May 2005 resulted in the immediate re-submission of plans to Newham Council. The timing of the development is now dependent upon the club establishing itself again as a regular member of the top league in English football. There has been talk of West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium of the 2012 Olympics. The capacity of the Olympic Stadium would be 80,000, but with the club moving, it would be reduced to 45,000 - 70,000. There has also been strong rumors of West Ham moving to a new ground near; Dagenham Dock, West Ham, Beckton or Bow. All the rumors suggest a new 45,000 - 65,000 all-seater stadium.

[edit] West Ham United Museum

The West Ham United Museum cost £4 million and opened in 2002. It is open to the public from Monday to Saturday. The collection includes the World Cup winners medals of the three West Ham players who played in England's victorious 1966 World Cup campaign, Sir Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, and Martin Peters.