Chelsea move a major step closer to a £2bn redevelopment of Stamford Bridge as they agree £50m deal to buy site of homes of military veterans next to their stadium
- Chelsea first revealed plans for their proposed renovations under Abramovich
- Boehly and co pledged funds towards the work in their £4.25bn 2022 takeover
- Pochettino’s side could spend more than four years playing away from SW6
Chelsea’s hopes of breaking ground on their proposed £2billion expansion of Stamford Bridge received a boost with the agreed sale of crucial site next to the existing ground.
The club faced a number of obstacles to making the large-scale renovations under former owner Roman Abramovich, but funds for the ground’s rebuild were put aside as part of the £4.25bn acquisition of the club by co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital in May 2022.
A potential stadium relocation to nearby Earl’s Court was ruled out in April 2023, and full focus has since been placed on making renovations to the current 40,341-capacity stadium.
Developments could be moving in the right direction for Boehly and Chelsea’s owners, after agreement in principal was agreed by the board of trustees for Stoll, the housing association for veterans which owns the two-acre site.
Mail Sport reported in October 2022 that the association – which provides 157 supported homes for armed services – had placed the majority of their two-acre site up for sale, with Chelsea expected to bid for 60 per cent of the land, equivalent to 1.2acres, which is valued at £50m.
Chelsea’s long-planned renovations to Stamford Bridge received a key boost on Wednesday
Housing association Stoll put the majority of their two acre site (1) up for sale in October 2022
The club are keen to bring their stadium in line with that of their Premier League rivals and increase the capacity by close to 20,000 seats
Chelsea’s relationship with the association sparked controversy in 2018 when we revealed former owner Abramovich made a secret payment to Stoll thought to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The charity then kept nearly 30 of its flats empty instead of providing homes for vulnerable former soldiers, a move which it is believed would have smoothed Abramovich’s plans for a new stadium.
Plans were eventually put on pause in the wake of Abramovich’s scrapping of his UK visa application, and the oil and steel magnate’s reported unwillingness to invest any further in Britain.
Potential work on the stadium, which would aim to increase capacity to 60,000 in line with that of the club’s Premier League rivals, would see the Blues playing away from Chelsea for over four years.
Venues that have been floated to host the club whilst the renovations are being undertaken have included Wembley, Twickenham, and Craven Cottage, where their west London neighbours Fulham play.
Boehly is believed to have held informal talks with Fulham’s owner Shahid Khan about the possibility of groundsharing, but although representing the most convenient move just one mile down the road, a spell in Craven Cottage – capacity 25,700 – could see the Blues miss out on key revenue.
Should Chelsea’s owners opt for a stand-by-stand refurbishment the work could take significantly longer than four to five years, and independent experts have called Chelsea’s proposed 2030 finish date ‘optimistic’.
Co-controlling owner Todd Boehly put aside funds in the club’s £4.25bn takeover for the work
In the interim Chelsea may look to groundshare with neighbours Fulham at Craven Cottage
A move to Wembley, as Tottenham underwent, could see a significant increase in ticket sales
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