Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has reportedly committed to a major redevelopment of the Premier League club’s home stadium, Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein said recently that the club is aiming to commence the planning process to redevelop the stadium “during the course of the next year”.
With a capacity of around 40,000, Stamford Bridge is the smallest stadium of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs and the West London outfit has been seeking to expand the venue for a number of years.
Recent reports have suggested that Chelsea could consider building a new 60,000-seat stadium in Earl’s Court but Boehly now appears to have committed to redeveloping Stamford Bridge.
In a statement first reported by The Sun, Chelsea Pitch Owners, which owns the club’s stadium freehold, said: “The new owners have committed to redevelopment of the stadium. So it is anticipated the group’s workload will increase as this project begins to take shape.”
A consortium led by Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed its acquisition of Chelsea back in May, with the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge among the areas of investment outlined by the club’s new owners.
Boehly and Clearlake Capital made a £4.25bn (€4.9bn/$5.2bn) commitment to Chelsea, with an initial £2.5bn having been paid to purchase the club. A further £1.75bn investment will be made over the next 10 years.
In August, Chelsea’s new owners were reported to be planning a range of upgrades at Stamford Bridge, with the work to be focused on improving the stadium’s overall look. According to The Telegraph, the club will invest in a “major upgrade” of the 40,000-capacity stadium, with a renovation of the West Stand to be central to the plans.
Chelsea was given permission to expand the capacity of Stamford Bridge back in January 2017 but the plans were put on hold in May 2018 due to what the club described at the time as the “unfavourable investment climate”. In March 2020, Chelsea said it would continue to consider options for a new stadium “should economic conditions improve” but no major progress has been made since then.
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