West Ham United is seeking planning approval to expand the capacity of the London Stadium to 62,500, which would make the venue the second-biggest in the Premier League behind Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
London Stadium does have 66,000 seats but only operates as a 60,000-capacity ground during West Ham matches. The stadium previously had a capacity of 57,000 but this was increased by 3,000 back in November.
Restrictions on the capacity of stadium are in place due to regulations imposed by the Safety Advisory Group. West Ham has long-term plans to increase the capacity to the full 66,000.
Increasing the stadium’s capacity to 62,5000 would ensure London Stadium is the biggest Premier League ground in the capital. Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium, which opened in April, has a capacity of 62,062, while Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge hold 60,600 and 41,841, respectively.
A West Ham spokesperson told The Times: “It has always been the intention to increase the capacity. The club has started the next step of that process, which is to seek planning approval to increase the capacity to 62,500.”
The Times reported that a planning application to increase the capacity to 62,500 could be submitted “in the coming months”.
With a capacity of 75,000, Old Trafford would still be comfortably the biggest stadium in the Premier League.
Image: Hammersfan
Share this