When Todd Boehly completed a £4.25 billion Chelsea takeover, the Stamford Bridge redevelopment was used as a core selling point. The Blues are looking to upgrade the 42,000 capacity stadium and are hoping to reach a decision soon over plans to revamp the Stamford Bridge.
The Boehly-Clearlake consortium pledged £1.75 billion in Stamford Bridge redevelopment and the process is already in the infant stages as discussions are being held with a possible stand by stand rebuild mooted.
The new owners have big aspirations on and off the pitch. While they have bankrolled over £500 million in two transfer windows to rebuild the squad, work has begun on developing the Chelsea brand globally. CFC are working on adding new facilities at the Cobham training facility as well as evaluating the Stamford Bridge redevelopment plan.
3 stadiums considered as Chelsea home venues as Stamford Bridge redevelopment plans surface
According to The Times, Chelsea have stepped up the exploratory work this month and are hoping to reach a final decision over the redevelopment by this summer. In fact, the club’s taskforce, which will be responsible for the redevelopment, have been to the new Everton stadium that is in works. Everton are set to shift from Goodison Park to 52,000 capacity, state of the art, Bramley-Moore Dock stadium in 2024.
The construction of the new stadium is going on in full swing as the stadium is being constructed and raised above the ground. Another contingent of Chelsea’s stadium redevelopment team could soon visit Merseyside. Meetings have taken place between Chelsea and the CPO (Chelsea Pitch Owners) and neither side anticipates the completion of Stamford Bridge redevelopment before 2030.
The Blues may have to look for an alternate home venue when the Bridge is being reconstructed and three stadiums have been viewed as possible options. The Wembley Stadium, Twickenham Stadium and Craven Cottage have been discussed as possible alternate venues but so far no talks have taken place.
Last year, Chelsea co-owner Jonathan Goldstein spoke about the possible redevelopment and the planning permission that lapsed for Stamford Bridge redevelopment.
"“The fact people need to be aware of is that there is no existing planning permission on the site. There was planning permission but it lapsed. We have to start again so we are at the beginning of that process.“There are still alternatives: you either redevelop the existing stadium or you take it down and build a new one on the site.“We are very tied to Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO) are part of that process, so we are going through our own education process. We will then consult with fans, local authorities.Currently, we are really focused on understanding the locality, what we’ve got at Stamford Bridge and maximise the opportunity and excitement for the fans.” (via Bloomberg)"
Will Stamford Bridge go into redevelopment by 2024?