Chelsea Football Club (CFC) plans to replace its current stadium in south London with a 60,000-capacity landmark venue celebrating the heritage of sport in and around Stamford Bridge.
The club has launched a three-day public consultation on the stadium plans, during which local residents will be able to view and offer their views on the proposals.
The conceptual designs, which have been put on display at Stamford Bridge, pay homage to the club’s history and the original designs of the stadium and the architecture of the surrounding area.
The designs have been produced by a team including masterplanners
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, stadium architect
Herzog & De Meuron, strategic planners
Aecom, railways and transportation specialist
WSP and structural engineers Schlaich Bergermann & Partner
Schlaich Bergermann & Partner.
Speaking to
Sports Management, a CFC spokesperson said the designs weren’t final, but rather a part of an ongoing consultation with local residents and other stakeholders.
“This area has a proud history of hosting a sports venue throughout the 18th and 19th centuries,” he said.
He added that the initial designs reflect that history and the consultation this week aims to give local residents and CFC fans the opportunity to be "part of the next stage of the club’s journey".
CFC’s billionaire owner, Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, has pledged to fund the project – estimated to cost around £500m – in its entirety.
Despite being one of the most successful English clubs of the past decade, the club’s current home capacity of 41,000 is only the eighth largest in the EPL – far lower than its rivals Manchester United (76,000), Arsenal (60,000) and Manchester City (55,000).
Abramovich has for years been seeking a site to build a new stadium on, as part of efforts to bring the club’s revenues in line with its rivals.
The plans come as a result of feasibility study commissioned by Abramovich last year, which looked at the area from Fulham Broadway to Stamford Bridge and examined the potential of upgrading the stadium.
Redeveloping the historic Stamford Bridge could take up to three years to complete and result in the club relocating to another venue, such as Wembley or Twickenham. In October 2014, the Rugby Football Union – which owns Twickenham – said it had received an enquiry from Chelsea FC but “had not had any discussions of any substance”.
• The plans are currently only on display for local residents, but UK-based newspaper the
Daily Mail has published images of the plans on its website.
To view the article and the images, click here.
