Rating the 12 Football League stadiums in London

I am at a bit of a loose end at the moment. Other than being a transport enthusiast, I am also a massive fan of following live sport, especially football. Both of these have been majorly impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19. Live sport around the world has been postponed or cancelled, and non-essential use of public transport has been restricted. I will continue to blog about public transport to keep my sanity, but right now it is important only those who really need to use public transport are the only passengers.

Similar to my goal of visiting all 270 London Underground stations (currently at 242), I also want to watch football at as many football stadiums as possible, or 'doing the 92'. There are 12 football league stadiums in London, and I have been to all bar one. So I am going to rank them in terms of facilities, atmosphere, charm and ease of visiting. 

12) Kingsmeadow

I start my review of the 12 football league stadiums in London at the only stadium I have not visited. With a seating capacity of over 2,250 people, Kingsmeadow is the home to League One AFC Wimbledon and Chelsea FC Women. Kingsmeadow has four stands, the two behind the goals are both terraces. The Paul Strank Stand is the largest stand with over 1,250 seats and houses the changing rooms, offices and bars.

Kingsmeadow is one of the more difficult stadiums to visit from central London. The nearest station is Norbiton with South  Western Railway services to Waterloo. AFC Wimbledon was founded in 2002 by supporters of Wimbledon FC. The owners of Wimbledon FC moved the club over 60 miles away to Milton Keynes. Kingsmeadow, however, is over 5 miles away from Wimbledon FC's former home stadium of Plough Lane. I look forward to visiting Kingsmeadow soon either for a AFC Wimbledon game or to watch Chelsea FC Women. 

11) Griffin Park

Next is a stadium that will not be around for much longer, Griffin Park, the home of Brentford. The ground has a capacity of 12,300, with the stands behind both goals housing terrace sections. Griffin Park is famous for being the only football league club in England to have a pub in every corner of the ground. The Griffin pub was used as film location in Green Street as the Abbey, the watering hole of the Green Street Elite. The Griffin also featured briefly in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody as a crowded pub watched Live Aid.

Griffin Park is also not the easiest stadium to get to from central London. The closest station is Brentford which has South Western Railway services to Waterloo and South Ealing on the Piccadilly line, a one mile walk from the ground, provides services to the West End and King's Cross. The atmosphere at Girffin Park is not the most intense in London, but with an old school style, it is definitely worth a visit. The Bees are due to move into 18,500 all-seater Brentford Community Stadium at Kew Bridge at the start of the next season. 

10) Brisbane Road

Brisbane Road is home to the lowest ranked football league club in London, Leyton Orient. The stadium has been home to Leyton Orient since 1937 and has an all-seater capacity of 9,271. There are flats located in each of the four corners of the ground, giving residents a great view of the O's in action. The ground has a friendly atmosphere with the Leyton Orient Supporters Club bar open before and after the game for both sets of fans and a rather unique concourse in the Tommy Johnston South Stand.

Brisbane Road is easy to get to with a short walk away from Leyton station on the Central line and plenty of pubs in the area. Although football is currently suspended, Leyton Orient have been doing their bit to continue to entertain football fans. Leyton Orient have created and hosted the virtual 'Ultimate Quaran-Team' FIFA tournament. 128 clubs from all over the world have taken part and Orient have raised over £50,000 in the process. The O's have also announced they will give NHS staff 100 free tickets to every home game next season. A club in E10 have been doing their best to entertain fans all across the globe.

9) London Stadium

Just down the road from Brisbane Road is the 66,000 seater London Stadium, the new home of West Ham United. Venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Hammers moved to the Stratford stadium in 2016. Since the Olympics, the stadium has also hosted games for the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup, the 2017 World Athletics championship and a Major League Baseball series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.

London Stadium, however, has a poor reputation amongst football fans. Unlike the other stadiums in the list, the seats are far from the pitch and subsequently does not have half the atmosphere of West Ham's former home at the Boleyn Ground. The views from large parts of the stadium are not great and despite currently being a Premier League stadium, it is the least familiar or traditional in this list. The queue for transport services at Stratford station after an event can be horrendous.

8) Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium

Another stadium with poor views is Loftus Road at the other end of the Central line. The 18,500 all-seater stadium in White City has been home to Queens Park Rangers since 1917. The stadium was renamed to Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium for the start of the 2019/20 season in honour of a former youth team member who was fatally stabbed in 2006.

There is a somewhat old school charm about the ground, however, on all four of visits to the ground I have found my views shocking. From the away end where you cannot see the goal line to being stuck behind a roof support along the side of the pitch, perhaps I need some QPR fans advice for where to sit next time I visit? 

7) The Den

The home of Championship side Millwall has a bit of a reputation. Whilst I am no doubt this part of South London is an area you would not want to get lost in, do not believe the movies or wanna-be football hooligans. Millwall regularly receive EFL Family Excellence status and won the Nickelodeon Family Club of the Year in 2017. The 20,000 all-seater stadium opened in 1993 and has a modern feel with all four stands featuring two tiers. 

The away end is a short walk to South Bermondsey station with plenty of services to and from London Bridge. With pubs aplenty and Borough market at London Bridge, and a well policed walk from the away end to the station, The Den makes a great experience for away fans. Millwall have recently revealed plans to massively redevelop The Den into a 34,000 seater stadium, but when the club currently average just over 13,000, this does seem bizarre. 

6) The Valley

The Valley has been home to Charlton Athletic since 1919, although the Addicks controversially ground shared with rivals Crystal Palace from 1985 to 1991. Charlton returned to The Valley in 1992 and into highly renovated stadium. The ground is modern with three stands usually occupied by home fans dominating the pitch. The away fans are housed behind the goal in the Jimmy Seed Stand, the only part of the ground to survive Charlton's move in the 80s. 

The ground is a short walk from Charlton railway station which has Thames Link services and London Cannon Street. I used this section of railway to travel between Woolwich Arsenal and Lewisham when I attempted to visit all 45 DLR stations as quickly as possible in February 2020. Alternatively there are plenty of bus services from North Greenwich. 

5) Selhurst Park

Often regarded as having the best home atmosphere in the Premier League, next on the list is Selhurst Park. The 25,000 seater stadium has been the home of Crystal Palace since 1924, but has also been the home of Charlton Athletic and Wimbledon FC. Selhurst, Norwood Junction and Thornton Heath stations are all a 10-15 walk from the ground and have services to and from London Victoria, with the later also having services to London Bridge. Norwood Junction also has London Overground services connecting fans to east London. 

Although there is a great atmosphere at Selhurst Park, the ground is massively in need of an upgrade. The view from Arthur Wait stand, which houses the away fans, is infamous for being one of the worst away ends views in English football. Although, some fans often enjoy the open air concourse for the away contingent. Crystal Palace plan to upgrade the stadium and the plans look spectacular, and yes the plans will finally see improvements to the away end. 

4) The Emirates

Opening in 2006, The Emirates is the home to Arsenal. With 60,000 seats, three tiers and premium hospitality, The Emirates is a fantastic place to be entertained, but it goes against the charm of being a football fan. The atmosphere at The Emirates is regularly ridiculed by opposition fans, not helped by the home upper and lower tiers being dissected by a middle tier exclusively comprised of hospitality bars, suites and boxes. 

As a student I often worked in one of the hospitality bars at The Emirates, and I thoroughly enjoyed this job. The stadium is impressive and I doubt there is a bad seat in the house, but on my three visits in the stands I have questioned if I am watching an Arsenal home game or an Arsenal game at neutral venue? However, with 60,000 fans potentially in attendance it is a good job there is plenty of transport options when leaving the game, but Caledonian Road, the closest station to The Emirates is closed before and after the game. 

3) Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Tottenham find themselves in an almost similar situation to north London rivals Arsenal. Tottenham have recently moved into their new 62,000 seater stadium on the site of their previous home, White Hart Lane. The stadium is incredibly impressive, with a dominating single-tiered 17,500 stand behind one of the goals. Similarly with The Emirates, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is designed like a bowl but unlike the Gunners' home, Spurs' ground still has four distinct stands. 

I have only visited the ground once, and I thought the atmosphere was alright, but certainly better than The Emirates. The ground, in my opinion, similar with the London Stadium and The Emirates, are not football stadiums, they are entertainment venues. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has an onsite brewery, bakery and a cheese room, and from the outside it looks like a mix-mash between an airport and a shopping centre. 

2) Craven Cottage

Once existing Putney Bridge station, football fans walk through Bishops Park along the banks of the river Thames before being greeted with the Cottage Pavillion and the old school facade of the Johnny Haynes stand. The walk I described is not just one of the best approaches to a stadium in London, it is arguably the best out of the entire Football League. The stadium opened in 1896 and is the answer to many a classic pub quiz question. There is a tree in the corner of the Putney End, which is the only tree to be found in a British senior football stadium. 

Also in the Putney End, there is no segregation from the away end and the 'neutral end', making this the only football league club in Britain to have this arrangement. Fulham are currently redeveloping the Riverside Stand. During construction, Craven Cottage's temporary capacity is 19,000. This redevelopment will increase the capacity at Craven Cottage, improved hospitality areas and allow a public walkway across the bank of the river Thames. 

1) Stamford Bridge

Stamford Bridge is the home of the only team in London to win the Champions League, Chelsea. Chelsea were formed in 1905, however, the stadium was opened in 1877 and has been used for many different sports. Throughout its history Stamford Bridge has hosted athletics, baseball, greyhound racing and rugby union. The ground also hosted the FA Cup final three times and was the venue for the famous Chelsea V Dynamo Moscow friendly just ten weeks after the end of World War Two in 1945, over 100,000 people attended. 

Stamford Bridge is the closest stadium to central London and is perhaps the easiest to visit. Fulham Broadway on the District line is a stones throw away from the ground, and Earl's Court, West Brompton and Imperial Wharf stations provide plenty of options for when over 41,000 spectators leave at full time. Some parts of the stadium back to the 1970s, where as the most recent stand to be constructed, the West Stand opened in 2001. This gives a unique sense of charm and tradition of having four separate stands, however, the stadium still feels modern.

I cannot do a post about football in London and not mention the national home of football, Wembley! Opening in 2007, Wembley Stadium is the second largest in stadium in Europe, behind Camp Nou in Barcelona. The 90,000 seater stadium is home to the FA Cup final, EFL Cup final and football league play off finals. The stadium has also hosted other sporting events including Rugby League and Union, American Football and Boxing. Wembley has also hosted many concerts, houses a university and will host the semi-final and final of the next European Football Championship that was due to take place this summer.

There would not have been a 90,000 seater stadium, the Wembley Arena, the home of national football, a university or a box park (that opened in December 2018) in north-west London if it was not for Sir Edward Watkin and the Metropolitan Railway. Watkin was the chairman of the Metropolitan Railway and eight other railway companies, and he wanted to increase passenger numbers by giving people a reason to travel by railway, so he created Wembley Park. Wembley Park was a pleasure garden with lake, cricket pitches and waterfalls. The park opened in 1894 and attracted over 100,000 visitors within the first three months. Wembley Park station officially opened in 1894, however, it received a Saturday only service from October 1893 so people could access the sports facilities. 

However, a park was not ambitious enough for Watkin. Inspired by major engineering project involving steel such as Tower Bridge, Blackpool Tower, Crystal Palace and the Eiffel Tower, Watkins lead the construction of Watkins Tower. This octagonal tower was designed to be 370m tall and to rival the Eiffel Tower. Due to costs instead of having eight legs as originally planned, it was to have four. However, by September 1894 Watkin retired due to ill health and due to the tower having fewer legs than originally planned, the structure started sinking. By 1899 the company financing the project goes into liquidation and by 1902 it was deemed unsafe and by 1907 the tower was completely demolished. But it is not all bad news, the park continued to thrive, with the addition of more facilities and even a golf course in 1912. After World War One, the British Empire wanted to host an exhibition about the empire, they decided to pick Wembley as the host, which lead to the construction of the Empire Stadium. The stadium had a capacity of 127,000, was iconic for the twin towers and was on the site of the demolished tower. The stadium opened in 1923 but was later renamed to Wembley Stadium and has hosted numerous events such as being the home of the FA Cup final, the 1948 Olympics, 1966 World Cup Final, Euro 96 Final and Live Aid. 

Do you agree with my rankings of the 12 Football League stadiums in London? What are you favourite memories of watching football in London? Join the conservation below or on Twitter or Instagram where my account is @TubeSpottingDan and my DMs are always open for a chat. Take care and I cannot wait to be back at a football stadium as soon as it is safe to do so.