West Ham United FC has revealed new images of what its new Olympic Stadium home will look like once the club moves in permanently next year.
The project to transform the stadium is reaching the final stages and the club has announced that one of the curved stands will be named after its long-serving former captain Trevor Brooking.
Brooking won’t be the only former player to be celebrated around the stadium – pictures show a giant replica of Bobby Moore's legendary No.6 shirt hanging above the concourse of the stand which will carry his name.
Located within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, the stadium – the main venue for the London 2012 Games – has been completely transformed to host football at a cost of £272m.
By the time it welcomes West Ham in August 2016, the stadium will be in its third configuration, having also hosted games during the Rugby World Cup earlier this year.
Designed by sports architects Populous, the stadium will be the only stadium in the UK specifically designed to host football, athletics, rugby, cricket and concerts.
Capacity has been scaled down from the original 80,000 to 54,000 for football and the flexible seating will allow the stadium host the IAAF World Athletics Championships in 2017.
The seating system means the original running track has been saved, with the automated system allowing all four sides of the lower bowl to be moved over the track when in football mode.
Other works completed since 2012 have included the removal of the fabric roof used during the Olympic Games. It has been replaced with the world’s largest cantilevered roof – measuring 45,000sq ft in size and 84m tall at its deepest point.
The new roof will improve acoustics by reflecting the noise of the terraces and projecting it towards the pitch.
In order to preserve some of the Olympic Stadium’s identity, the iconic triangular lighting towers that used to stand over the old roof have been inverted and now hang underneath the new larger roof.
In a statement, West Ham vice chair Karren Brady said work was on track and added that the club had sold a record amount of season tickets ahead of the move.
“We have always promised our supporters that this will look and feel like the home of West Ham United and today’s new CGI is further evidence that we have been true to our word,” she said.
“It is also fantastic news that we have now sold more season tickets for next season than in any other in our history, and that is with nine months still to go before our first game.
“Demand for tickets has surpassed all of our expectations and that is testament to the rapid progress we have seen on and off the pitch over the past few years.”
As part of the move, the club has agreed to sell its current Upton Park stadium to developer The Galliard Group.
Galliard won the bidding due to its links to the local community and its commitment to "honour the history of the Hammers" at the Boleyn Ground as part of its proposed development.
Galliard's plans include a mixed-used projects with leisure, retail and new homes and there are plans to establish a central garden park named after the late WHU legend Bobby Moore.
Fans and local residents will also be invited to enter a poll to name each building after a legendary player or an historic event at the Club. Galliard has appointed Sculptress Frances Siegelman to create a statue of Bobby Moore and other artwork celebrating the heritage of the Football Club.
The current West Ham memorial garden by the front entrance to the grounds will also be retained, protected and incorporated into the new development.
The development, which will have a construction programme of some 30 months, has an anticipated completion date of late 2018.
