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West Ham United sell out 52,000 season tickets for move to Olympic Stadium

East London side have sold more season tickets than any other London club and trail only Manchester United

James Mariner
Monday 09 May 2016 12:30 BST
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West Ham will open their stadium with a friendly against Juventus on 7 August
West Ham will open their stadium with a friendly against Juventus on 7 August

West Ham United have sold 52,000 season tickets for their first season in the Olympic Stadium - a total bigger than London rivals Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur and trailing only Manchester United (55,000).

Slaven Bilic's side play their 2,398th and final match at their current Upton Park ground against Manchester United on Tuesday, ahead of their move to Stratford this summer.

Their final weekend match at the current stadium ended in a 4-1 reverse against Swansea City last Saturday.

The new ground holds 60,000 - an increase from 35,000 at Upton Park, where the club have been based since 1904 - and initial fears that the club would struggle to fill the stadium has dissipated.

“Getting the stadium is one thing, selling it out is another,” vice-chairman Karren Brady said.

“Our attendances next season will include 10,000 children because of our affordable seating and we have 30,000 supporters on our waiting list. So the demand and desire is there.

“Having made the bold decision to move to the former Olympic Stadium, we are delighted to see how it has captured the imagination of the fanbase.

"We find ourselves going into our first season with more than 50,000 season ticket holders and tens of thousands of people on the priority list for seasonal seats in 2017-18.

"Without doubt, our stadium move is an unrivalled success story.”

The opening match will be a friendly against Juventus on Sunday 7 August, ahead of the start of the 2016/17 Premier League season six days later.

There is the possibility of an earlier opening match at the new ground - should the Hammers qualify for the Europa League third qualifying round.

As it stands the club finishing sixth in the Premier League would enter next season's Europa League at the third qualifying stage, meaning a two-legged tie across 28 July and 4 August.

West Ham currently sit seventh, two points behind Southampton, with a game in hand. Tuesday's match with Manchester United is followed by a trip to Stoke City on Sunday.

West Ham were awarded the Olympic Stadium in March 2013, beating interest from Tottenham, who initially hoped to depart White Hart Lane next summer for Stratford.

The North London club have since moved ahead with plans to redevelop the stadium's current site.

West Ham are paying an annual £2.5million in rent on the Stratford site over a 99-year lease, with the remainder of the running costs funded by the London Legacy Development Corporation. They have contributed £15m to a total of over £250m spent on converting the site into a football stadium.

The rent will be halved should the club get relegated to The Championship, while extra payments would have to be made if the club qualify for the Champions League or win a trophy.

The stadium was orginally built as the main stadium for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

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