West Ham: 85% of fans support Olympic Stadium move in club poll

West Ham's relocation from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford has been backed by 85% of fans in a poll of supporters.

Nearly 12,000 Hammers fans took part in the survey conducted by independent pollsters SMG YouGov.

Club vice-chairman Karren Brady said: "We must now engage further with the fans who've requested more information.

"It is fantastic to know that the consensus among our supporters is that they are behind the move."

Only 5% of the 11,858 respondents - which covered bond and season ticket holders, academy members and matchday ticket holders - were against West Ham leaving Upton Park under any circumstances while 10% said they would consider backing the move but required more information.

The survey asked fans to agree with one of six statements, only one of which was against the plan, which will see the Hammers play games at the Olympic Stadium from August 2016. West Ham's capacity at home games will rise from about 35,000 to 54,000 as a result.

Frank Saez, managing director of the pollsters, said the response showed "the passion" fans feel about the move.

"The number of respondents is six times larger than typical survey sizes used for robust research analysis," he said.

Under conversion plans, the roof will be extended and the seating capacity reduced from 80,000, with a retractable system allowing the venue to be converted from an athletics arena to football stadium within days.

Seats will slide over the running track to bring West Ham fans closer to the action.

The London Legacy Development Corporation will begin work on the roof in the autumn and officials hope it will be ready for the autumn of 2015 - in time for the Rugby World Cup.

After that the stadium will close again to reconfigure the stadium's lower seating bowl and re-open in time for West Ham to start playing their games therefore the 2016-17 season.