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The Boleyn Ground was the home ground for West Ham F.C. The ground was located on green street in Upton Park, east London.
The Stadium opened in 1904 and finally closed in 2016, at closure it has a capacity to hold 35,016 people. It was made up of 4 stands, The Bobby Moore stand, The Sir Trevor Brooking stand, The East stand and The Betway stand (West Stand).
The Bobby Moore stand was built in 1993 and could hold up to 9,000 spectators.
The Sir Trevor Brooking Stand was built in 1995 and could hold up to 6,00 spectators.
The East stand was built in 1969 and could hold up to 5,000 spectators.
The Betway stand was built in 2001 and was originally named the Dr Martens stand, who was the clubs sponsor up until 2009 when it was changed to The Betway stand (West Stand) who are the new sponsors of WHUFC. This stand was the biggest in the stadium and could hold up to 15,000 spectators.
In 2006 the chairman of the club made it his mission to get WHU to move into the Olympic stadium after the 2012 games. This would mean the club's home ground would be moved to Stratford and see the Boleyn Ground demolished.
The last game was played at the ground on 10th May 2016 and by July 2016 the seats were removed, hoarding had been put up and the keys were handed over to the developers.
In September 2016 the ground was used as a film set for 2017 film 'Final Score'
Today
As you'll see in the photos demolition has already started and the ground is pretty un-recognizable, the east stand has now been demolished and has now been replaced by some wooden anti climb hoardings.
The pitch grass is no longer and is just a bog with machines sitting on it.
The stands that remain are fenced off with some heras and the bottom of the stands were starting to be pulled apart and the concrete and metal has been piled up on the pitch.
The site is being pulled down to create housing of 800 homes but controversy has arisen because only 25% of the houses will be 'affordable'.
The Explore
Boleyn ground had been on the hit list for a bit after being told it was do-able.
Not being a football fan i went to the ground to just see the scale and what it looked like, but as we progressed through my views changed and started to imagine what it was like to sit and watch the game and imagining the atmosphere when this place was full.
After doing a little reccy of the site we realized there was security present and the entrances all had cameras on but we chanced our luck and we made it in.
We immediately made a dash for one of the stands and out of the way of the spot lights and cameras.
Within about 10-15 mins we saw a security guard presumably doing his rounds of the site. He shined his torch into the stands but we managed to keep in the shadows and keep out of sight.
After about 2 hours inside we started to notice more bright torches shining around the stand and we saw another 5 security guys walking on the pitch. Presuming that we had been seen getting in we decided to make a swift exit.
We spent about 30 mins planning the best way to get out, as soon as the security walked back inside we made our move, probably a bit sketchy but we made our way down some of the icy rubble and out.
Made for a great explore, sneaking around and getting very dusty and dirty.
Now onto the pics - we spent the majority of the time in the stands just taking in the views and mucking around with the camera trying out different exposures, ISO's etc. So some of these photos are a bit samey so i apologize for that.
Explored with @mockney reject, @DRZ_Explorer & a non member.
The Boleyn Ground was the home ground for West Ham F.C. The ground was located on green street in Upton Park, east London.
The Stadium opened in 1904 and finally closed in 2016, at closure it has a capacity to hold 35,016 people. It was made up of 4 stands, The Bobby Moore stand, The Sir Trevor Brooking stand, The East stand and The Betway stand (West Stand).
The Bobby Moore stand was built in 1993 and could hold up to 9,000 spectators.
The Sir Trevor Brooking Stand was built in 1995 and could hold up to 6,00 spectators.
The East stand was built in 1969 and could hold up to 5,000 spectators.
The Betway stand was built in 2001 and was originally named the Dr Martens stand, who was the clubs sponsor up until 2009 when it was changed to The Betway stand (West Stand) who are the new sponsors of WHUFC. This stand was the biggest in the stadium and could hold up to 15,000 spectators.
In 2006 the chairman of the club made it his mission to get WHU to move into the Olympic stadium after the 2012 games. This would mean the club's home ground would be moved to Stratford and see the Boleyn Ground demolished.
The last game was played at the ground on 10th May 2016 and by July 2016 the seats were removed, hoarding had been put up and the keys were handed over to the developers.
In September 2016 the ground was used as a film set for 2017 film 'Final Score'
Today
As you'll see in the photos demolition has already started and the ground is pretty un-recognizable, the east stand has now been demolished and has now been replaced by some wooden anti climb hoardings.
The pitch grass is no longer and is just a bog with machines sitting on it.
The stands that remain are fenced off with some heras and the bottom of the stands were starting to be pulled apart and the concrete and metal has been piled up on the pitch.
The site is being pulled down to create housing of 800 homes but controversy has arisen because only 25% of the houses will be 'affordable'.
The Explore
Boleyn ground had been on the hit list for a bit after being told it was do-able.
Not being a football fan i went to the ground to just see the scale and what it looked like, but as we progressed through my views changed and started to imagine what it was like to sit and watch the game and imagining the atmosphere when this place was full.
After doing a little reccy of the site we realized there was security present and the entrances all had cameras on but we chanced our luck and we made it in.
We immediately made a dash for one of the stands and out of the way of the spot lights and cameras.
Within about 10-15 mins we saw a security guard presumably doing his rounds of the site. He shined his torch into the stands but we managed to keep in the shadows and keep out of sight.
After about 2 hours inside we started to notice more bright torches shining around the stand and we saw another 5 security guys walking on the pitch. Presuming that we had been seen getting in we decided to make a swift exit.
We spent about 30 mins planning the best way to get out, as soon as the security walked back inside we made our move, probably a bit sketchy but we made our way down some of the icy rubble and out.
Made for a great explore, sneaking around and getting very dusty and dirty.
Now onto the pics - we spent the majority of the time in the stands just taking in the views and mucking around with the camera trying out different exposures, ISO's etc. So some of these photos are a bit samey so i apologize for that.
Explored with @mockney reject, @DRZ_Explorer & a non member.
