For Season Ticket Holder Atul Gandhi, West Ham United’s move to new Stadium has come at the perfect time, with his son just old enough to appreciate the old and the new
For Season Ticket Holder Atul Gandhi, West Ham United’s move to new Stadium has come at the perfect time, with his son just old enough to appreciate the old and the new.
Five-year-old Darshan will watch the Hammers in person at the Boleyn Ground for the very first time this season, before taking his seat alongside his father on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in August 2016.
Atul, who has supported West Ham since 1972, hopes the experience of two extraordinary seasons in Hammers history will prove an unforgettable West Ham induction for young Darshan.
“I was born in Kenya, I lived in India for the best part of the first six years of my life and I moved to east London in 1972,” Atul explained.
“I did my schooling within a mile of the Boleyn Ground, so it is absolutely my local community and my local club. That’s what I’ve grown up with all my life and it’s obviously deep in my veins, in my blood, if you like.
“I believe in that local club feel and I’ve been explaining to my son since he could understand, we support West Ham, we support West Ham!
“It’s going to be an emotional farewell next season and I’ll be taking my son there for the first ever time to his first ever live football game.
“It will be such an emotional thing, both for me and hopefully for him as well, and something that he’ll remember for the rest of his life.”
Five-year-old Darshan will watch the Hammers in person at the Boleyn Ground for the very first time this season, before taking his seat alongside his father on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in August 2016.
Atul, who has supported West Ham since 1972, hopes the experience of two extraordinary seasons in Hammers history will prove an unforgettable West Ham induction for young Darshan.
“I was born in Kenya, I lived in India for the best part of the first six years of my life and I moved to east London in 1972,” Atul explained.
“I did my schooling within a mile of the Boleyn Ground, so it is absolutely my local community and my local club. That’s what I’ve grown up with all my life and it’s obviously deep in my veins, in my blood, if you like.
“I believe in that local club feel and I’ve been explaining to my son since he could understand, we support West Ham, we support West Ham!
“It’s going to be an emotional farewell next season and I’ll be taking my son there for the first ever time to his first ever live football game.
“It will be such an emotional thing, both for me and hopefully for him as well, and something that he’ll remember for the rest of his life.”
It’ll be such a proud moment, with a turnout of 50-odd thousand West Ham fans singing Bubbles, and my son!
Atul has recently snapped up like-for-like seats in the East Stand of the new Stadium and applauded West Ham’s move to introduce £99 Season Tickets for Under-16s.
He continued: “It’s absolutely fantastic what West Ham have done there to be quite honest, especially in this day and age where everyone wants to support a Chelsea, a Manchester United, a City and the like.
“When you’ve got something as competitively priced as £99 to take your son for a season’s football, I don’t think you can go far wrong. It’s the kind of thing that if you take them from a young age, they’ll embrace, hopefully.”
All in all, the prospect of that first season at Stratford is a hugely exciting one for Atul, both where practicality and sentiment is concerned.
“I’m really, really, honestly and truly looking forward to moving to the former Olympic Stadium,” he confirmed.
“Logistically, it will be so much better. I’m based down in Shenfield, in Essex, and I’m looking forward to a 20 minute journey to go and watch football. It’s such an easy place to get to and we just walk across the bridge and we’re in the Stadium. It’ll be great.
“That first game will be a proud moment, a real, real proud moment. I think it’s just so apt. Darshan’s five years old at the moment and he’ll just have turned six by then. It’s just so fantastic, the timing couldn’t have been any better for me, because he is just at that right age to go on that journey.
“It’ll be such a proud moment, with a turnout of 50-odd thousand West Ham fans singing Bubbles and my son!”
He continued: “It’s absolutely fantastic what West Ham have done there to be quite honest, especially in this day and age where everyone wants to support a Chelsea, a Manchester United, a City and the like.
“When you’ve got something as competitively priced as £99 to take your son for a season’s football, I don’t think you can go far wrong. It’s the kind of thing that if you take them from a young age, they’ll embrace, hopefully.”
All in all, the prospect of that first season at Stratford is a hugely exciting one for Atul, both where practicality and sentiment is concerned.
“I’m really, really, honestly and truly looking forward to moving to the former Olympic Stadium,” he confirmed.
“Logistically, it will be so much better. I’m based down in Shenfield, in Essex, and I’m looking forward to a 20 minute journey to go and watch football. It’s such an easy place to get to and we just walk across the bridge and we’re in the Stadium. It’ll be great.
“That first game will be a proud moment, a real, real proud moment. I think it’s just so apt. Darshan’s five years old at the moment and he’ll just have turned six by then. It’s just so fantastic, the timing couldn’t have been any better for me, because he is just at that right age to go on that journey.
“It’ll be such a proud moment, with a turnout of 50-odd thousand West Ham fans singing Bubbles and my son!”
As a 2015/16 Season Ticket Holder, you can give priority to two supporters to join you as new Season Ticket Holders in our new Stadium, who can join you at your Reservation Centre appointment where you can select your seats together.
If you are yet to take advantage of this unique opportunity to invite your friends and family to join you at our new Stadium, you can do so by managing your seat selection appointment online.
MANAGE YOUR APPOINTMENT
You should have received a separate email from the New Stadium Reservation Centre, which explains the process for renewing your Season Ticket for the 2016/17 season and gives you personal login details to manage your appointment online.
Log in to reservations.whufc.com. If you have not received login details via email for the New Stadium Reservation Centre, please email [email protected].
If you are yet to take advantage of this unique opportunity to invite your friends and family to join you at our new Stadium, you can do so by managing your seat selection appointment online.
MANAGE YOUR APPOINTMENT
You should have received a separate email from the New Stadium Reservation Centre, which explains the process for renewing your Season Ticket for the 2016/17 season and gives you personal login details to manage your appointment online.
Log in to reservations.whufc.com. If you have not received login details via email for the New Stadium Reservation Centre, please email [email protected].