West Ham clear first Olympic Stadium hurdle as fans flock to new home to see Domzale put to the sword
By Oliver Todd for the Daily Mail
Slaven Bilic says he gains little joy from his new office at the Olympic Stadium, significantly bigger than the Upton Park space he occupied.
He has no real care, either, for the dressing room which he had a hand in designing - 80 per cent larger than its old equivalent.
What the Croatian boss wants is noise. For him, what was left behind at the Boleyn Ground in a compact, intense environment, has to be matched by a huge increase in the number of fans here.
West Ham supporters had their first taste of the Olympic Stadium on Thursday evening
54,000 supporters turned up to watch the Hammers beat Domzale in the Europa League
Two young fans pose with their tickets as they welcome in a new era for the club
The Olympic Stadium, or the London Stadium as West Ham will now call it, was transformed
West Ham left the Boleyn at the end of last season after over a century at the ground
He might not have been too impressed, then, to hear the tannoy booming out before Thursday night's opener against Domzale, drowning out any volume at all from the 54,000 who had mostly got into their seats early.
After that, there was an outing of 'Irons' shouts ringing around the ground before West Ham's upgraded bubble machine got going and, from there, that noise Bilic has been talking about.
With a capacity increase of 19,000 — with another 6,000 to be added by the time Bournemouth visit in the first Premier League game here — it was never going to be quiet.
Hammers supporters take a look at their new home ground prior to kick-off
West Ham fans settle down in their new seats for the very first time on Thursday
One fan takes in the atmosphere at West Ham's new ground for their debut game
Another young fan shows off a piece of merchandise ahead of kick-off
The crowd's roar boomed down off the newly-installed roof and while their chants couldn't carry through the full 90 minutes it did give a glimpse of what this place could be like on a big night.
Plenty of teams hated going to Upton Park last season, they might like the mod-cons here but it will still be a difficult place to come.
This arena still maintains the magic that it did when Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah and Co were the heroes. On Thursday night, Cheikhou Kouyate was the unlikely man in the spotlight.
Mark Noble leads West Ham out onto the pitch at the Olympic Stadium for the first time
The Stadium's iconic triangular floodlights were inverted in order to shine light on to the pitch
The Hammers dominated the first half and deservedly took an early lead through Kouyate
The famous floodlight triangles that once shot up into the sky here are now inverted, pointing down towards a pitch the size of those at the Nou Camp, Wembley and Old Trafford.
It is far from perfect with the green covers over what remains of the running track and huge gaps between the lower and upper tiers in places but West Ham can call it home - the promises to their fans have come through.
The claret and blue identity is visible wherever you look, from the dug-outs to the stadium's exterior via the stands.
For those who had been going to Upton Park for so many years it will still all feel a bit different, though.
Rather than the Boleyn Tavern on the corner of Green Street and Barking Road it's now The Cow 'pub and dining' venue on a corner at the edge of the nearby Westfield shopping complex.
The stage is a significantly different, but the songs the same, 'Bubbles' blasted out by those in claret and blue — to the bemusement of a few shoppers who had timed their retail trips poorly.
Hammers supporters had their first taste of the new Trevor Brooking stand
You would think, like the fans, they will find a new routine here.
A lengthy walk through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park follows, flanked by the aquatics centre and a few fairgrounds rides. Such has been the scramble to get the stadium ready there have been more high-rise cranes than high-rise rides here this week.
But it is just about finished. The stadium 'wrap' displaying images of current players will later include a digital screen but for now it is done and — no matter the negatives — it is impressive.
After all, this is the biggest stadium move in the era of all-British stadia. With 35,000 seats going up to 60,000 from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium, West Ham experience a bigger jump than Arsenal (22,000) or Sunderland (19,500) did.
There are bound to be teething problems, chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan admit that.
There were no bars open in parts of the upper tier, photos of the gaps between tiers that will later be covered up circulated online, and stories of travel nightmares are inevitable but not too too many issues were visible on Thursday night and, on the pitch, Domzale did little to expose any in Bilic's team.
Summer signing Sofiane Feghouli capped a memorable night for the hosts
Feghouli joined the Hammers on a three-year deal from Valencia earlier this summer
The Olympic Stadium, or London Stadium — the name the club use — will have bigger tests, as will its new occupiers.
But for a Thursday night Europa League qualifier, an uninspiring fixture on any other occasion, this wasn't too bad.
West Ham are over their first Olympic Stadium hurdle.
