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Chelsea's stadium dilemma

Out of the 13 London clubs, only one has never moved home. Chelsea.   The stadium is the most significant issue facing the club.  Its size constrains revenues and Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham have all moved to new stadiums.

Having a gleaming new 60,000-seater stadium is not simply about the additional £50 million-plus from ticket revenue a season, or the extra spend on merchandise, but also attracting players, commercial partners, other sports and concerts. 

Chelsea are “exploring options” on the stadium, and are not committing to anything until fully establishing the time and cost of all possibilities, but they hope to have a sense of preference on Stamford Bridge or Earl’s Court later this year, ideally over the summer. Boehly has already shown himself keen to listen to supporters. The club have kept in close touch with Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), which owns the Stamford Bridge pitch,

Todd Boehly initially signalled the new owners’ intent to redevelop Stamford Bridge through a complicated stand-by-stand increase from 40,000 to 60,000 or through demolition and a total rebuild, which would require the team to move to Craven Cottage or Wembley for up to four seasons. Both of those options are beset with logistical problems, let alone inevitable legal challenges from neighbours.

The alternative is moving to the site of the old Earls Court Exhibition Centre. Logistically, it would lead to least disruption. Chelsea could continue playing at Stamford Bridge while construction took place.   But it would not be acceptable to most fans.

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