West Ham fans won’t recognise London Stadium as timelapse footage shows stunning transformation for MLB London Series
West Ham’s London Stadium has had a dramatic makeover this summer as baseball returns to the UK.
Hammers supporters may not recognise their home ground, which has been transformed from football stadium into a state-of-the-art ballpark for the latest MLB London Series.
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The football pitch has been replaced by a baseball diamond, astro turf outfield and reconfigured stands to give the London Stadium a completely different look.
The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are the latest MLB outfits heading to the capital for two days of blockbuster baseball on June 8 and June 9.
It took 18 days for the impressive transformation to be completed, with MLB granted access on May 20 - just one day after West Ham’s final game of the Premier League season against champions Man CIty.
Over 144,000 square feet of synthetic turf and 345 tonnes of infield clay has been installed on top of West Ham’s football pitch, forming for the outfield, diamond and pitcher’s mound.
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But don’t worry Hammers, the hallowed turf is protected by a layer of special flooring to ensure its it good shape for the next campaign.
The entire MLB playing surface was stored after last year’s event - between Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals - to be reused this year.
Two giant 18-metre-tall foul poles have also been installed, as well as batting cages, dugouts and along 46,000 square feet of netting to protect fans behind the foul line from being stuck by errant balls.
The stadium’s baseball clubhouses, which have been a permanent fixture since 2023 and are now included in the stadium tour - have been rebranded in Mets and Phillies livery. They sit on top of the 100m warm up track in the west stand and feature 50 individual player lockers, managers offices, break out areas, TV screens and sofas.
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Following the series, the entire field will be removed in just five days, with the start of the 2024/25 Premier League season only ten weeks away.
The food menu across the weekend will also be unrecognisable to West Ham fans.
They’ll be no half-time pies or your run-of-the-mill burgers, fans at the London Stadium will be treated to super-sized offerings of all the American classics.
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New York and Philadelphia are both represented with a NYC deli-style pastrami sandwich and the famous Philly cheesesteak, while burger fans can chow down on double-decked Knuckleball.
The especially hungry can tuck into the two-foot long 'boomstick' hot dog.
Far from your simple wiener in a bun, this baseball bat sized pork behemoth is loaded with braised beef and chilli, topped with jalapenos, nacho cheese and sour cream - and weighs in at a whopping 1.5kg.
Now that sounds like a challenge…
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