Fans flocked to the Red Sox-Yankees clash in their droves to guzzle hot dogs, belt out YMCA – and see a sublime openingBaseball makes cricket look like an almost stat-free zone. This weekend in London records have been falling over themselves with a regularity that probably constituted a record in itself.But the one that will resound through Major League Baseball’s executive suite is this: its first two games played in Europe drew the sport’s highest attendances in 16 years. US baseball no longer even has a stadium that can hold 60,000 spectators, never mind fill it, near as dammit, in mid-season. So by coming to London the sport seems to be on to something – if not big, then at...
New York Yankees against Boston Red Sox will draw a bigger attendance for each game than the weekend’s two Cricket World Cup blockbusters combinedNearly seven years’ worth of Saturday nights have passed since what was then London’s Olympic Stadium played host to an exhibition of British sporting magnificence – which lasted a good half-hour. On Saturday comes the precise reverse: a weekend of something even more un-British than winning: the Yanks are coming – to play the most alien sport of all.In the 1980s, suborned by Channel 4, a sizeable minority of British sports followers became infatuated with that strange sport for sizeable people, American football. Basketball, being simple to organise and economical on space, has long been played in...
Slaven Bilic’s side have struggled in their new home and only visible progress on the pitch will compensate fans who have swapped 112 years of history for a running track and a poor atmosphereFrom a business perspective, it was not hard to understand why West Ham United found it impossible to resist the allure of the London Stadium, with its agreeably large capacity, vast corporate facilities, proximity to the capital’s centre and Olympic legacy. It seemed to tick all the boxes for a club looking to reach the next level, as long as everyone kept in mind the football team that was going to play there. They would have to feel as comfortable as those sitting in the posh seats....
After London’s mayor Sadiq Khan ordered an inquiry into the inflated cost of the stadium, a look at how the Hammers got there, and who’s footing the billThe total cost of converting the Olympic Stadium from an athletics stadium into a multi-use venue has soared to £323m, taking the overall cost of West Ham United’s new home to £752m – largely borne by taxpayers. How did we get here? Related: London mayor Sadiq Khan orders inquiry into West Ham stadium costs Continue reading...