Byram - It's pure excitement

West Ham United new boy Sam Byram is already making himself at home at the former Olympic Stadium on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. 

After putting pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Hammers in January, the Essex-born full-back was soon having a nosey around the Club's 54,000-capacity future home. 

He even popped into the New Stadium Reservation Centre for good measure and departed with a very clear sense of where his new Club is headed.        

“It’s pure excitement,” the former Leeds United man told West Ham TV. “You see the size of it and you can imagine over 50,000 fans cheering as you come out, bubbles blowing. It really is exciting times. 

“It's historic for West Ham. To play in a Stadium of that size and the history behind the Olympics, for us to move into it, it's massive and it was a big part of me wanting to come here. 

“We were stood in the tunnel where you'd walk out. You can see how big it is and the atmosphere that will be created in there. 

“The roof, it's almost like a dome shape, so it's going to keep all the noise and it really will be a special place on matchday. It's unbelievable. 

“I’m very impressed. It's a lot better than I even expected, it's huge in real life. I'm just really excited now for the start of next season.” 

As are his Essex-based relatives, who have already snapped up Season Tickets for the 2016/17 campaign. In fact, Byram made good use of the Virtual Venue at the Reservation Centre to survey the vantage point from his family’s seats in the new West Stand.      

“It's a great bit of technology to be able to show the fans where they potentially could be sitting next season,” he continued. “It does really help out, I think, when it comes to choosing your seats.

“I've seen where my uncle and cousin are going to be sitting. They're just behind the dugout, so they're just a stone's throw away. It's great for them and it's good for every fan that's going to have the chance to be able to watch us in there.”