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Earls Court option fades for Chelsea

Chelsea understandably feel constrained by having a smaller stadium than London rivals Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.   Match day revenue is smaller and there is little opportunity for the kinds of alternative uses pursued by Spurs.

The possibility of Chelsea building a new stadium at Earl’s Court has hit a setback after an alternative plan for the land was approved by one of the councils involved.  Personally I never thought it was viable.

At a meeting on Wednesday night, Hammersmith and Fulham council approved proposals for a development on the site of the old Earls Court Exhibition Centre which will include a mix of new homes, retail and hospitality, and workplaces. The plans are led by the Earls Court Development Company (ECDC).

The land had also been mooted as a potential site for a new stadium for Chelsea, who are looking at future options to develop or move away from Stamford Bridge. The ECDC’s plans do not include a football stadium.

Hammersmith and Fulham council’s decision does not guarantee the development at Earls’ Court will go ahead. Kensington and Chelsea council must still vote on the proposals and even if planning permission is given, plenty can still go wrong before ground is actually broken — as Chelsea know. Under Roman Abramovich, the club secured planning permission for a 60,000-seater ground on the Stamford Bridge site, but the build never took place after complications around Abramovich’s visa.

However, this council decision is a significant step towards the ECDC project progressing, which would likely rule out the possibility of Chelsea having a new stadium on the site. 

The most likely path forward appears to be a redevelopment at Stamford Bridge. The club bought another 1.9 acres of land adjacent to the stadium in 2023, increasing the size of the plot available to them for redevelopment.    However, it remains a constrained site.

As a stand-by-stand renovation is not seen as feasible, a redevelopment would mean demolishing the existing ground and playing home games elsewhere while work took place. Wembley Stadium hosted Tottenham Hotspur’s home games for the 2017-18 season and much of 2018-19 while their new stadium was being built.

 

 

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