Chelsea could face the prospect of having to play at Wembley for FIVE YEARS as they look at plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge.
Owner Todd Boehly committed to build a new stadium as part of his £4.25 billion takeover last year and Chelsea are beginning to investigate plans and ideas. Club officials have been quizzed by supporters on their plans for Stamford Bridge and, while no decision has been taken, a temporary move to Wembley could be on the cards.
There is no set timescale but there are fears it could take up to five years to knock down and rebuild Stamford Bridge completely in what would be the biggest football redevelopment ever seen in London.
It could take the club up to ten years if they rebuilt the stadium “stand by stand” while supporters have been warned that it could take as much as 18 months to clear up the demolition site.
Chelsea could yet find an alternative site but none of the proposals put forward during the Roman Abramovich era are still on the table and the new owners are starting afresh.
No decision can be made without the permission of the Chelsea Pitch Owners who are effectively freeholders of the current Stamford Bridge site.
There have been no official meetings yet but the stadium has been top of the agenda whenever supporters have had the opportunity to quiz club officials.
The CPO were put in charge by former chairman Ken Bates to ensure nothing could be done without permission of the supporters. Chelsea have refused to comment so far on any redevelopment plans but as much as £1.75billion of the total takeover sum was put aside for future investment into the club, including the stadium.
Chelsea’s potential redevelopment is made even more difficult because it is close to railway and Tube lines as well as being in a built up area of London. They may have to dig well below ground to lay extra foundations but also build bigger stands to increase the capacity.
Tottenham played nearly two full seasons at Wembley while White Hart Lane was redeveloped and the total cost of their new stadium was in excess of £1billion.
During the Abramovich era, they did also look at moving to Wembley and even considered going toe-to-toe with Tottenham to use the national stadium.
