Those waiting for their season tickets may be confused by how small the package that falls through their letterbox is, of course it is not the much anticipated welcome pack, but your 'paper' ticket for the West Ham United v NK Domzale Europa Cup 2nd leg Thursday 4th of August KO 19:45 Hrs match at The Olympic Stadium. The reason for the paper ticket is because there will be many fans unable to sit in their own season ticket seats due to the continued conversion process from athletics to football mode, there is also the spin that the paper ticket will be a memento of the event, whilst being able to gain the club another couple of weeks to get the digital system fully operational.
Baroness Brady hinted that there would be certain 'issues' at the new stadium, similar to when moving in to a newly built house, well if the exit system is not solved it will be Big house Big issues! Those who went to the AC/DC concert will know exactly the problem, hopefully with better stewarding and organisation a similar situation can be avoided.
Having the match held just days before the 'official' stadium's opening ceremony to West Ham fans, ahead of the high profile friendly against Juventus, will be a bit of a strange experience, especially for those who purchased Juventus tickets expecting the match to be the opening one at the Olympic stadium, but surely they knew that West Ham were in the Europa League Cup and that pre-qualification for the closing stages of the competition was always on the cards meaning a home fixture ahead of the Juve game.
On a positive note, at least the tickets are getting dispatched for the NK Domzale match on time, and given the logistical demands in addition to the season ticket mail out preparation that are being made on the club they are doing rather well, it is a pity that Ticket Master are not managing at all well! Tales of people hanging on for hours are common place,so it is to be hoped these 'teething troubles' get sorted out before they become a full blown need for dentures! - Ed
