---
title: "Expert says West Ham’s stadium should be knocked down"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2016/11/01/expert-says-west-hams-stadium-knocked/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Ste Hoare"
section: "West Ham News"
published: "2016-11-01T10:16:09Z"
modified: "2016-11-01T10:16:09Z"
---

# Expert says West Ham’s stadium should be knocked down

Paul Fletcher, a stadium expert who has been involved in the building process for over 30 football venues, says that the London Stadium isn’t fit for hosting football matches and should be knocked down and rebuilt.

Although there have been issues with fan violence inside the stadium, Fletcher says the stadium should be rebuilt due to the distance of the spectators from the field, not because of security issues that have marred recent games.

He says that it was pretty common knowledge that the Olympic Stadium would be converted into a football ground once the London 2010 Games were completed and as such, the stadiums should have been built with football in mind, not athletics.

He told the [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37828905) that he was asked to consult about a possible Olympic Stadium build in 2000 and said:

> I said what you must do is design a football stadium that converts to an athletics stadium for two weeks of its lifetime. When I build my football stadiums, my number one concern is the spectator. What they’ve done is tried to convert an athletics stadium into a football pitch and, in my opinion, it doesn’t work. The building was almost built when they started to talk to West Ham.

![Stephen Pond/Getty Images Sport](https://media.readwestham.com/readwestham/2016/11/617254644.jpg)

The distance from the field is an issue for many West Ham fans, especially as they’ve been brought up watching games at Upton Park, where they were very close to the pitch. When asked for a solution, Fletcher said:

> Either we go on as we are for the next 30 or 40 years or we knock it down and start again. Something has to give. If you want to satisfy spectators the only way to get those spectators near that pitch is to knock it down and start again.