The photo is of the Waterloo Road Stand designed by Archibald Leitch. Sadly this was one of the stands to fall into a state of disrepair as financial constraints, part of the general neglect of football facilities throughout the league. The stand was closed to spectators, although at the club’s nadir attendance could be under 2,000, and eventually torn down to be replaced by the Billy Wright Stand in the early 90’s.

The East Stand was built in 1969. It replaced the original Chicken Run and its chicken wire enclosure, but kept the colourful name. Like most classic grounds, the stand was in close proximity to the sidelines. West Ham legend Billy Bonds once proclaimed, “I put opponents into the Chicken Run…fans would finish them off.”

The peak capacity of the ground was just over 42,000 before conversion to an all-seater stadium in the early 1990’s. Between 1993 & 2001 three new stands opened, bringing the all-seated capacity to 35,016.

The name Boleyn Ground has largely been displaced by Upton Park, the area in the Borough of Newham where the stadium is located. The ground was sold to developers, and West Ham moved to the London Stadium after the 2015-16 Premier League season.

Constructed in 1904 on the site of a former orchard, Griffin Park has had a colourful history. During the 1929-30 season Brentford set a record by winning all 21 home matches on their way to a second place finish in the Third Division South. A decade later the ground was hit twice by bombs during the Second World War.

Brentford will be moving to Brentford Community Stadium, which will be a massive improvement over the current ground in almost every way. It is sad, though, that the new ground isn’t named after a local pub, nor does it have the old school floodlight pylons, and like most new grounds the atmosphere will suffer.

Given the problems faced by so many clubs, the disappearance of Bury FC being the latest example, it is positive that Brentford are moving to a new ground but Griffin Park will be missed.

Construction on the Olympiastadion began in 1934. The venue was created as the showpiece stadium of the 1936 Summer Olympics. The Games have gone down in history as one of the most controversial as it was overseen by Germany’s Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. During the Olympics, American sprinter Jesse Owens famously won four gold medals as Hitler watched on. Today a street outside the stadium’s walls has been named after the American sprinter.

As a football venue, the Olympiastadion spent much of its early life unchanged until the 1970s. It was renovated for the 1974 World Cup. The construction finally saw the stadium receive a roof as the two sides were now covered. Just three matches were played at the Olympiastadion during the 1974 tournament. Despite being located in the German capital, the tournament’s final was help in Munich.

The stadium was an important piece of the Nazi party and its propaganda. It was due to the Olympiastadion’s history that many Berliners felt that the venue should be torn down in the 1990s. With the Cold War over and the Berlin Wall now a thing of the past, locals felt the same should happen to the Olympiastadion. So far, the stadium has remained. Its iconic look has allowed it to be a historical landmark that gives insight into Germany’s dark past.

During the 1990s, there were also advocates of tearing the stadium down and replacing it with a football specific venue. The Olympiastadion has long been seen as a stadium that is far too big for Hertha. The stadium holds more than 74,000 supporters, but Hertha average around 45,000 per match. It was the ninth most of Bundesliga teams in 2017-18.

While it was believed the city could tear down the Olympiastadion, it was decided it would hold the 2006 World Cup final. Following the decision, the stadium experienced renovations once more to bring it up to date. A new roof was put onto the stadium and the lower seating areas were rejuvenated.

The days of the Olympiastadion may be numbered. As much as the city would like to keep it as a regular football venue, Hertha have other plans. The club has proposed a new stadium that would accommodate 55,000 fans. The Hertha Fussballarena is expected to be built just yards away from the Olympiastadion and share the Olympic Park. The club’s lease at the Olympiastadion will expire in 2025 and it hopes to open the new venue then. Hertha plan to self-finance the venue.

If Hertha are successful in building a new stadium, it could leave the Olympiastadion in the same limbo experienced by the Munich Olympiastadion. The venue is rarely used as its former tenants Bayern Munich and 1860 Munich moved away in the 2000s. The Olympiastadion’s life as a football venue could slowly be coming to an end.