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Todd Boehly has revealed that disagreement over Chelsea’s stadium plans could lead to the Premier League club’s owners going their separate ways.
A consortium led by Boehly and Clearlake Capital acquired Chelsea back in May 2022, and stadium development has been one of the key areas of focus for the ownership group.
With a capacity of around 42,000, Stamford Bridge is the smallest stadium of the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs. Chelsea has been weighing up whether to upgrade Stamford Bridge or develop a new venue.
In September, reports emerged that Boehly and Clearlake Capital were looking to buy each other out, with a rift said to have emerged between the two parties. It was also reported that Chelsea had held talks over building a new stadium in Earl’s Court.
Previous reports have suggested that Chelsea could consider building a new 60,000-seat stadium in Earl’s Court, but in March 2023 the company overseeing the regeneration of the area “categorically denied” reports that talks had taken place with the club.
In April last year, Chelsea’s ownership group BlueCo completed the purchase of the Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions site from Stoll, which provides houses for veterans. The site is located next to Stamford Bridge and the acquisition of the land will make it easier for Chelsea to renovate the stadium, but the club’s plans remain unconfirmed.
Chelsea’s ownership group also includes Hansjörg Wyss, founder of the Wyss foundation, and Mark Walter, co-founder and chief executive of Guggenheim Capital. Walter and Boehly are owners of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Boehly said: “We have a big stadium development opportunity that we have to flush out. And I think that’s going to be where we’re aligned or we ultimately decide to go our different ways.”
He added: “We have 16-20 years to sort out Chelsea. It’s really complex. It’s not as if we are building something in the middle of a rural environment. So we have a lot of constituencies to make sure we care about. Certainly the Chelsea fan base is one. But long-term, I think we’re going to be building something new, and we’ll figure it out.”
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