Stamford Bridge has been Chelsea Football Club's home for over a century, but the Blues could be getting a brand new stadium, according to a report by Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian on Tuesday.
The report claims that Chelsea have "held talks" over leaving their storied ground and moving to a new location at Earls Court just minutes down the road.
Stamford Bridge currently has a capacity of just over 40,000 fans, but according to Steinberg, the club wishes for that to more than double. Unfortunately, that kind of expansion would be exceedingly difficult at their current ground, with Stamford Bridge's proximity to a tube stop making redevelopment of the current ground difficult, according to Steinberg's report.
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Instead, a new stadium is apparently seen as a more preferable solution, with a conservative estimate sourced in Steinberg's report claiming a total cost of around £500 million ($653 m / €592.5m).
To compare, Tottenham's state of the art new stadium, which opened five years ago, seats just under 63,000 fans and boasted a total cost of around £1 billion ($1.31b /€1.18b), and is attracting other desirable sporting events such as NFL games played abroad. Other famous grounds around Europe seat upwards of 80,000 fans, such as the Santiago Bernabeu of Real Madrid, the Nou Camp in Barcelona, or Wembley Stadium over in north-west London.
Steinberg's report claims that Chelsea have held talks with Transport for London regarding the new site, which is at the Lillie Bridge depot. The new proposed location is less than a half-hour walk from Stamford Bridge, a straight shot down North End Road.
However, according to Matt Law of The Telegraph, the developer in charge of the Lillie Bridge depot site has dismissed the claims of Chelsea's potential build on their location.
“There is no plan within our plans for Chelsea FC to relocate to the Earls Court site," read a statement from Earl's Court Development Company as quoted by The Telegraph. "We have a fully detailed design, shortly to be registered with both local authorities, which prioritises the delivery of thousands of homes and jobs, culture and open space through a well-designed and considered masterplan which has evolved over four years of engagement. This will see development commence in 2026 with the first residents and occupiers moving in from 2030. This is, and will remain, our primary focus.”
Interestingly, neither Chelsea's current ground nor the proposed new location are actually in the borough of Kensington & Chelsea for which the club is named, but rather in the borough of Fulham & Hammersmith.
Earl's Court is technically in Kensington & Chelsea, but the Lille's Bridge depot is just on the Fulham side. In fact, when Stamford Bridge was first constructed in the early 1900's, it was initially offered to Fulham FC but was turned down for monetary reasons.
Lillie Bridge used to hold a sports ground, opening in 1866 and closing in 1888 following a riot. It was the home site for an athletics club, held multiple boxing events, and even hosted the 1873 FA Cup final which was won by the Wanderers, a long-since defunct club which had no home ground and therefore chose the Lille Bridge Grounds to host the match.
