The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, is an association football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. Since 1904, it has been the home of Premier League side West Ham United F.C., with their predecessors Thames Ironworks playing their home games at Hermit Road. The stadium was also used shortly in the early 1990s by Charlton Athletic during its years of financial difficulty. The current seating capacity of the ground is 35,016.
The club rented Green Street House and grounds in the Municipal Borough of East Ham from the Roman Catholic Church from around 1912. Green Street House was known locally as Boleyn Castle because of its imposing nature and an association with Anne Boleyn, who had either stayed at or, as some believe, owned the house. The ground is said to be haunted by one of her maids who died in childbirth. Hence renting the grounds of "Boleyn Castle" the name Boleyn Ground came into being. Today the ground is far more commonly known as Upton Park, after the Upton Park, London area in which it is located.
In August 1944, a V-1 flying bomb fell on the south-west corner of the pitch. This forced the team to play its games away from home while repairs were undertaken, but it did not affect performances as West Ham managed nine consecutive victories. Upon their return to the ground in December, they lost 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur. The record attendance is 42,322, against Tottenham Hotspur in a Division One (Old) match on 17 October 1970, when the North and South Banks were terraced, as was the old 'Chicken Run' to the front of the East Stand. The record attendance at Upton Park since it has become an all-seater is 35,550, recorded against Manchester City on 21 September 2002 in a Premier League match.
The stadium has a total capacity of 35,016 all seated. The stadium has been subject to considerable redevelopment since the early 1990s:
- 1993: South Bank replaced by a new 9,000 seat, two-tier stand named in honour of former captain Bobby Moore, who had died earlier that year. The stand also incorporates executive boxes as well as a digital clock.
- 1995: North Bank replaced by a new 6,000 seat, two-tier stand named the "Centenary Stand" now renamed as the "Sir Trevor Brooking Stand". The East Stand Lower is also made all seater.
- 2001: West Stand replaced by a new 15,000 seat, two-tier stand named the "Dr. Martens Stand." The stand also incorporates executive boxes on two levels as well as the West Ham United Hotel.
Plans were submitted to increase the capacity to approximately 40,500 through the building of a new larger East Stand, that would additionally use the spare space that was created when the Doctor Martens stand was built further West than the old West Stand. This will result in a fully enclosed stadium by joining the new stand to the Centenary Stand and the Bobby Moore Stand. Relegation to the Football League Championship in 2003 resulted in the development being delayed. However promotion to the FA Premier League via the Play-Offs in May 2005 resulted in the immediate re-submission of plans to Newham London Borough Council.
Throughout 2006, talk was rife of West Ham moving to the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Olympics, with speculation increasing after new club chairman Eggert Magnusson confirmed he was interested in a move there. However, talks broke down between the club and the Olympic Committee after it was announced that the Stadium would be reduced to a 25,000 all seater after the Olympic Games, which is over 10,000 less than the Boleyn Ground's current capacity, and that the stadium would be keeping its running track, leaving supporters further away from the pitch and affecting the atmosphere within the stadium on match days. Rumours suggested that West Ham could move to a new stadium located at the Parcelforce depot near to West Ham Underground/mainline station. On 7 November 2007, London mayor Ken Livingstone announced that a new site had been identified for West Ham to build a new stadium.
On 23 March 2010, the club announced they were in fact working on a joint bid with Newham London Borough Council to move into the Olympic Stadium. In November 2010, West Ham United commenced a search for potential developers for "informal discussions" about what would happen to the ground if it wins its bid to take over the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games. After a long and protracted bidding process that involved judicial reviews from rival bidders and the deal collapsing at one point, on 22 March 2013 it was announced that the clubs tenancy bid had been successful and West Ham would take over a 99-year lease and move there in August 2016.