Chelsea commit to redeveloping Stamford Bridge over finding new stadium
English football giants Chelsea have committed to completing a significant redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, rather than moving to a new stadium.
The club have long explored a move away from their current West London home, given its capacity of 42,000 is significantly smaller than their rivals competing at the top of the Premier League. However, the club's ownership group - led by US businessman Todd Boehly - has now assured Stamford Bridge's freeholders that it intends to pursue an expansion of the current ground instead.
As first reported by The Sun, Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), the shareholder group that owns the stadium's freehold, issued a statement that clarified: 'The new owners have committed to redevelopment of the stadium.
'So it is anticipated the group's workload will increase as this project begins to take shape.'
CPO would have needed to approve any departure from Stamford Bridge, given it owns the freehold with a 180-year lease. The club would have to give up the Chelsea FC name if it moved without their permission.
It was reported in November by the Daily Mail that the Blues had assembled a committee to investigate a potential move elsewhere, including reopening up the possibility of moving to a 60,000-seater ground in Earl's Court. The site has been on the club's radar for a while, with a move initially brought up by the club's previous owner Roman Abramovich in 2013.
Other sites that have previously been examined includes Battersea Power Station, which was the subject of a bid from the Blues in 2012.
Concerns about a move away from Stamford Bridge had reportedly resulted in an increase in sales for shares in the CPO group, with UK£175,000 (US$213,674) worth of shares snapped up by fans since March. This was a marked increase on sales in 2021, which totaled up at about UK£21,000 (US$25,640).
In its recently published accounts, CPO stated: 'After 19 years of uninterrupted ownership, the football club was sold to new owners during the year. Fan concerns over the future of the club led to an unprecedented demand for shares and record sales, which are unlikely to be repeated.
'An amount of uncertainty is to be expected with new owners coming in, although initial dealings with them have been very positive,' the CPO added.
Jonathan Goldstein, co-owner as a member of consortium that acquired the club earlier this year, had previously suggested that the stadium's redevelopment was a key priority, with interest rates considered a stumbling block in initiating the process.
"We are looking very heavily at redevelopment," Goldstein said back in October. "The planning process is something which we will start during the course of the next year and we'll hope central government will get behind it and see it as an engine for growth.
"The only problem, of course, is the management of interest rates because it makes it so much more expensive to develop."
He added that the club wouldn't delay the development: "It is a big project and there are very many constituents involved and we are at the beginning. But we will carry on because we believe in the business, in Chelsea FC and the area and we know, over time, Stamford Bridge needs redevelopment."
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