Chelsea plan massive stadium redevelopment project
A revamp of Stamford Bridge has been a key agenda at Chelsea for over a decade but expansion projects for the iconic venue have failed to materialise due to space constraints surrounding the current venue.
However. according to the Mirror, the Blues have located a sight at Earl’s Court, just two miles away from their current home ground at Fulham, where they plan on investing up to £500 million on building a new state-of-the-art venue.
The Stamford Bridge has a capacity of roughly 40,000, which falls considerably short of some of England’s as well as Europe’s most prestigious stadiums and for the west Londoners to continue using their ground as a cash cow, a rebuild is very much required.
Jason Gannon, Chelsea’s CEO, is already reported to be in touch with several stakeholders who would be responsible for the construction of a new stadium, including Transport For London and real estate developers, Delancey.
While the initial groundwork seems to be falling into place, the club still needs to discuss a shift in venue with some of its direct stakeholders, such as the fans, whose feedback will be considered when potentially moving to a new venue, and the Chelsea Pitch Owners, who have a freehold on the current land occupied by Stamford Bridge.
As a result of the numerous procedures involved, it could take as long as until 2030 for Chelsea’s project to complete. For that duration, they will be forced to move to a temporary arena, with Wembley Stadium likely to be a leading option given that even Tottenham Hotspur occupied it for a while when their current venue was undergoing construction works.
Indeed, Chelsea are in need of a massive stadium redevelopment as clubs around Europe have even started using their real estate for purposes other than football. While Spurs have agreements over NFL games, clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona plan on using their stadiums to host concerts as well as other events which would strap them with cash.
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It will be exciting to see what the supporters have to say on the topic but there is a high likelihood that they will be receptive towards the prospect of moving to a new site. Nonetheless, as one of the Premier League’s most iconic stadiums, it would be an emotional goodbye to the Bridge as and when the time comes.
