UPDATE!!!!
Chelsea look for new 65,000 stadium site
Friday, 20 January 2006, 11:11 GMT
Chelsea plan Bridge redevelopment
Chelsea have denied that they are looking to move away from Stamford Bridge and are instead seeking to increase its capacity to over 50,000.
Reports on Thursday suggested that the Blues were planning buy Earls Court Exhibition Centre in a
£400m deal and build a 65,000-seater stadium.
Chelsea have been playing at Stamford Bridge for 101 years
"We'd like to increase the capacity at the Bridge and take it over 50,000," said a club spokesperson.
"There are constraints on our current site, which are well documented."
The spokesperson added: "There has been speculation linking us with a whole variety of sites in London including Wembley, the Olympic Stadium at Stratford, White City, Battersea Power Station, Earls Court, Chelsea barracks and the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
"Whether these sites are available, or not available, is irrelevant."
It is also understood that if the Earls Court and Olympia complex is purchased then it must remain a conference and exhibition centre.
St James Capital put the 36-acre Earls Court and Olympia site up for sale in December for £400m.
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If this were to be built, it would become London's fourth largest stadium after Wembley (90,000), Twickenham (82,000) and the Olympic Stadium (80,000)! It would also be 5,000 seats larger than Arsenal's (a fellow London football team rival) new Emirates Stadium which is currently under construction at Ashburton Grove, around 4miles away (or 12 stops away on the Piccadilly Line as both stadiums would be above this line). This stadium would be built above a highly complex railway junction
Map of Arsenal's current (Highbury) and new stadium (Emirates Stadium)
Map of Chelsea's current (Stamford Bridge) and new stadium (Unknown named 65,000 all-seated, all-covered stadium) which would be built atop the Earls Court. Unfortunately unlike the new and old Arsenal stadiums, there is a bit of an added distance, so the first map shows Earls Court to the south (with Stamford Bridge to the bottom right just visible) and the second showing Stamford Bridge
It is unclear as to exactly what would happen to the Earls Court District Line (4 platform) sub-surface station - perhaps the station could be further modernised with Abromovich's money
Pictures of the current Stamford Bridge (notice that on two sides there are railway lines while on the other two it is residential apartments actually built on the stadium and other land uses)
Twickenham Stadium
