Wenslus Murape
CHELSEA previously failed in a bid to move away from Stamford Bridge back in 2012, ultimately losing out to a shopping centre development.
The Blues are once again considering waving goodbye to the Bridge as they look to build a new stadium. Chelsea have been keen to increase their capacity for decades with the London giants currently only able to host 40,341 fans in their SW6 home.
And they thought they might have found the perfect place to move into some 12 years ago, when they eyed up Battersea Power Station. Chelsea execs tried to buy the then derelict coal-fired power station with plans to convert it into a 60,000 seat stadium in the heart of Southwest London.
The stadium plans looked to include the iconic chimneys that have stood as part of Battersea Power Station since its construction in the 1940s.
While the building’s exposed brick was also set to be kept in place according to mock-up plans that were released at the time.
Their plan involved building one stand in the existing structure of the building and then creating a new stadium around it.
However, things didn’t go to plan and the sensational blueprints were ditched when their bid was rejected by the powers at be.
Instead, a Malaysian company turned the Grade II listed building into a shopping centre filled with high-end retail stores, restaurants, a cinema and a number of luxury apartments.
That development finally opened in 2022.
That isn’t the only abandoned plans that Chelsea have had either with the club pitching a 60,000 seat redevelopment of Stamford Bridge just three years later.
The club even received all the required planning permission from the local council and the Mayor of London to begin work on the plans.
But that idea was ditched back in 2018 when the club released a shock statement announcing its decision to pull the development, citing the “unfavourable investment climate”.
Any proposed move away from Stamford Bridge would be particularly difficult for Chelsea due to a fan group known as Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO).
The CPO own both the pitch at Stamford Bridge and the name Chelsea Football Club Limited.
That would mean that if Chelsea are to burn down the Bridge then they would likely have to change their club name to bypass the CPO group. — Sun.
Online Reporter