Chelsea's Move from Stamford Bridge Delayed by At Least a Year
Team to play in current stadium until end of 18/19 season at the earliest
Chelsea FC's plans to move out of Stamford Bridge have been delayed by at least a year.
After proposals for the demolition of the current stadium and building of a new one were approved by both H&F Council and Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, the club had announced plans to move out for three years from the end of next season, 2017/18 to allow construction work to begin.
But now, an official from the club has confirmed the move will not be made until the end of the following season, 18/19 at the earliest.
However, demolition of some of the ancilliary buildings, such as hotels, flats and the onsite health club may begin between matches during this season.
The delay is due to planning permission taking longer to achieve than originally hoped. The club is also reportedly still in discussions with Network Rail over the highly controversial proposals for decking over the adjacent West London and District railway lines.
The delay may also make it easier for the club to decamp to the most likely venue, Wembley for the construction period as Tottenham Hotspur are expected to move back from Wembley into their new stadium forthe 18/19 season.
The club plans demolish the current stadium along with all the other buildings on the site including flats, hotels and health club and build a new stadium on the existing Stamford Bridge site which will hold 60,000 spectators instead of the current total of 41,500.
The stadium has been designed by architects by Herzog & de Meuron, who also designed the Beijing Olympic Stadium and is expected to cost owner Roman Abramovich well above £500 million.
With construction work expected to take at least three years, the new stadium will now not be completed until 2022 at the earliest.
The club's planning application, which was slightly revised in August 2016, is as follows:
Demolition of existing stadium and buildings within Stamford Bridge Grounds and construction of a new 60,000 capacity football stadium (Class D2) with ancillary stadium-related uses including a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, Club shop, kiosks and museum; restaurant/café (Class A3); together with the construction of a Decking Platform over the District Line railway to the north-west and a Decking Platform over the Southern mainline railway to the east; external concourse areas; associated excavation works; new pedestrian access from Fulham Broadway Station and Fulham Road; new vehicular access via Wansdown Place; car parking; landscaping and related works. (‘Amended Proposed Development’).
You can read the full application and hundreds of supporting documents here.
June 2, 2017
